Scientists have warned that Italy's insects are starting to feel the heat of global warming and the future consequences for the country's agriculture are not encouraging.
"For some time now experts have been detecting signs of the effects of climate change on insects," explained Alberto Zilli of the Rome Zoological Museum.
"Many species tend to spread further than they usually would because they like it hot.
"Other ones that like cooler climates will go further north or die out".
Zilli stressed that, while the public may be indifferent to what is happening to the creepy crawlies, insects are important barometers of the nation's environmental health.
They are part of ecosystems and food chains that are vital to human life, he said.
He warned that new insects bring new hazards to farm crops with unpredictable effects for food production.
For example, climate change is boosting the spread of the dark mottled willow moth (spodoptera cilium).
"This moth strips the leaves of many plants and eats vegetables," Zilli said.
"It is now present in central Italy in abundant numbers. It is difficult to say what the consequences will be, but the local insect species are bound to suffer from its arrival".
Another insect finding new habitats thanks to the warmer weather is the southern migrant hawker dragonfly, (Aeshna affinis), which can now be easily found in northern areas like the Po Valley, where it was previously extremely rare.
Tropical butterflies like the plain tiger (Danaus chrysippus) are migrating from Africa to new homes in Italy too.
Sonke Hardersen of the National Centre for the Study and Conservation of Forestry Biodiversity said that global warming is changing insects' habits, as well as their distribution.
"This winter we saw bumblebees and carpenter bees, which is worrying because these species are not usually active in December and January," said Hardersen.
The insect alarm comes after the release of a series of recent studies claiming that climate change is hurting the Italian habitat.
Last June Rome university lecturers presented research showing that rodents are hibernating less and birds are losing weight and seeing their reproductive cycles disrupted by changes to the seasons.
The study also said that 20% of fish in the Mediterranean are now "immigrant" species that have moved up from southern seas via the Suez Canal and the Strait of Gibraltar.
Last September Italian beekeepers reported that bizarre weather patterns caused a 30% drop in honey production in 2006.
A recent report by environmental association Legambiente said that global warming was bringing back tropical diseases like malaria to parts of Italy too.
