Global warming is causing insects to decamp to colder pastures: Bees, butterflies, and other pollinating insects critical to our food supplies are migrating to cooler climates to escape rising global temperatures, according to research out of the University of Maryland published in Science Daily. Most insects are ectothermic, which means they are unable to regulate their own body temperatures, leading them to seek out naturally cooler areas as global warming upturns their ecosystems.

Why do insects matter at all? They comprise 80% of all the species that live on land, keep pest populations in check, clean up most of the earth’s biowaste, and have provided significant remedies to many human ailments; bee venom has been utilized to combat multiple sclerosis, osteoarthritis, and chronic fatigue syndrome, according to research from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.