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Insect abundance and distribution are regulated by several biotic and abiotic factors and their interactions. Survival and thriving at extreme physical conditions require peculiar adaptations and plastic responses. Among abiotic factors, temperature and humidity stand out as the most important ones constraining abundance and distribution of insect. Furthermore, it is well documented that abiotic factors, especially temperature, regulate the ecology of insect communities.

The current issue explores part of the effects of abiotic factors on insect abundance and provides remarkable insights on the influence and the direction of the impact that abiotic factors have on insect populations. There is a great diversity of studies included that goes across several insect taxa and ecosystems reflecting the magnitude of the effects of the physical environment on insect populations. Although effects of temperature on survival, development, and reproduction of insects have been exhaustively explored over several decades, there is still a lot of interest on how temperature and other abiotic factors set the limits of distribution and define abundance of insect species. The present special issue includes two studies reporting on the influence of temperature on species specific population dynamics and phenology. In their study regarding the impact of climatic factors on population dynamics of Diaphania pulverulentalis, a devastating leafroller for mulberry, VK Rahmathulla and colleagues demonstrate that the interaction of low temperatures with increased rainfall and subsequent