Why do temperature and humidity affect where homopterans can live?

Temperature and humidity are critical climatic factors that define the geographical regions and local habitats where homopterans can survive. Because every insect requires specific physical and chemical conditions to exist, significant changes to these factors force them to either migrate or perish.1

The influence of these factors on homopteran distribution is twofold:

• Host Plant Availability: Homopterans are often restricted to the specific regions where their host plants grow. Since plant distribution is largely determined by rainfall-evaporation ratios, the insects follow the range of their food sources. Within those ranges, specific climatic conditions may further limit an insect to a smaller, localized habitat.1
• Moisture Requirements: Humidity is vital for the survival of many species. For example, many auchenorrhynchans deposit their eggs in tender plant stems or leaf undersides, where the incubation period occurs in saturated humidity. After hatching, nymphs remain on the undersides of leaves to stay in high relative humidity, as this is where plant transpiration occurs. A reduction in humidity can destroy large populations of these insects.1