Reported and wrote audio script for KQED

As the climate changes, some grasshopper species have thrived in warmer springs, growing bigger on average just since 1960.

That was the finding of a new study from UC Berkeley researchers and their colleagues. But the scientists say warmer temperatures only helped grasshopper species that emerge early in the year. Late-start grasshoppers shrank.

Study author Caroline Williams of UC Berkeley says the grasshoppers that coped with changing conditions give her hope: “I think that what this shows us is that… there's a lot of variation out there within insects that will allow them to be resilient and to bounce back.”

Overall, insects worldwide face harsh declines.

The study’s methods can apply to other insect species, to predict the winners and losers of climate change, the authors say.