Species Climate Indices predict changes in occurrence of some UK invertebrate groups.

Studies of the impacts of climate change on invertebrates have largely been concentrated on large, easy to identify groups such as butterflies, dragonflies and moths. Taking advantage of trend data calculated for a wider set of invertebrate species in the UK, a wider assessment was carried out by evaluating the relationships between both long-term and short-term species trends and Species Climate Indices. Across all invertebrate species there was a positive relationship between both January and July Temperature Indices and both long-term and short-term trends, and a negative relationship between Species Precipitation Index and long-term trends. A subset of species groups showed similar responses, including the first evidence using this approach for differential responses of species within the Hemipteran groups Aquatic bugs, Plant bugs and Shield bugs, Craneflies, the Dipteran groups Fungus gnats, Empididae, Hybotidae & Dolichopodidae and Soldier flies, Millipedes, Spiders (including Araneae, Pseudoscorpiones, Opiliones) and Wasps. Combining trend information with information on the climate preferences of species provides a means of broadening understanding beyond groups that are the focus of specific recording schemes.