Rising temperatures fuel aggressive insects in Italy

The constantly increasing temperatures of this summer 2024 are contributing to making insects, especially wasps and hornets, more aggressive. In Italy, there is also a spread of so-called ‘alien species’, animals coming from other parts of the world and not native to the country. The Italian Society of Environmental Medicine is sounding the alarm on the risks associated with the current heat. According to President Alessandro Miani, the number of wasp and hornet stings is on the rise, a phenomenon directly linked to the heatwaves affecting Italy. The rise in average temperatures, along with global trade, facilitates the spread of new animal species such as Asian stink bugs, African locusts, Japanese beetles, and red ants, which find in the warm climate of our country an ideal habitat for their survival and proliferation. These insects cause significant damage to crops, with estimated losses exceeding one billion euros annually.