Discussion
Most studies of insect phenology have focused on regional scales, and
the few studies at larger spatial scales have been constrained to
species easily identified by trained volunteers such as butterflies in
the United Kingdom
(e.g., Hodgson et al.,
2011; Roy et al., 2015). Here, we leverage rapidly increasing, openly
available observation records to achieve the broad phylogenetic sampling
necessary for finding commonalities in phenological sensitivity related
to climate and life history traits, both important predictors of insect
phenology. Our key finding is that
timing of adult insect activity is temperature-driven but strongly
conditioned by species traits and less-so by phylogenetic relatedness.
As we discuss below, these findings provide a basis for prediction of
phenological responses in the face of environmental change.