Aim: In ectotherms, the colour of an individual's cuticle may have important thermoregulatory and protective consequences. In cool environments, ectotherms should be darker, to maximize heat gain, and larger, to minimize heat loss. Dark colours should also predominate under high UV‐B conditions because melanin offers protection. We test these predictions in ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) across space and through time based on a new, spatially and temporally explicit, global‐scale combination of assemblage‐level and environmental data.Location: Africa, Australia and South America.Methods: We sampled ant assemblages (n = 274) along 14 elevational transects on three continents. Individual assemblages ranged from 250 to 3000 m a.s.l. (minimum to maximum range in summer temperature of 0.5–35 °C). We used mixed‐effects models to explain variation in assemblage cuticle lightness. Explanatory variables were average assemblage body size, temperature and UV‐B irradiation. Annual temporal changes in lightness were examined for a subset of the data.Results: Assemblages with large average body sizes were darker in colour than those with small body sizes. Assemblages became lighter in colour with increasing temperature, but darkened again at the highest temperatures when there were high levels of UV‐B. Through time, temperature and body size explained variation in lightness. Both the spatial and temporal models explainedc. 50% of the variation in lightness.Main conclusions: Our results are consistent with the thermal melanism hypothesis, and demonstrate the importance of considering body size and UV‐B radiation exposure in explaining the colour of insect cuticle. Crucially, this finding is at the assemblage level. Consequently, the relative abundances and identities of ant species that are present in an assemblage can change in accordance with environmental conditions over elevation, latitude and relatively short time spans. These findings suggest that there are important constraints on how ectotherm assemblages may be able to respond to rapidly changing environmental conditions.

Edible insects are an important protein rich natural resource that can contribute to resilient food security. Edible insects not only play an important role in traditional diets, but are also an excellent source of protein in traditional dishes in Africa. We systematically searched Web-of-Science and Google Scholar from year 2000–2019 for studies on the consumption of insects and their nutritional composition in Africa, resulting in 98 eligible papers, listing 212 edible insect species from eight orders. These insects were rich in protein, fats, and fibre. The highest protein content was reported for Lepidoptera (range: 20–80%). Coleoptera had the highest carbohydrate content (7–54%), while Lepidoptera had the highest fat content (10–50%). Considering the excellent source of nutrition, and potential socio-economic benefits, from edible insects, they can contribute strongly to improved food security, and rural development in developing countries. In addition, edible insects can be used as a sustainable food source to combat food shortages in the future, for example, providing resilience during times of drought or other climate stressors.

Consumption of edible insects is an indigenous practice that has played an essential role in human nutrition across Africa. The traditional use of insects forms an important part of food culture in Africa, and insects are consumed either as a delicacy, emergency, or staple source of food. However, indigenous knowledge about insect consumption is being lost because recent generations have adopted western methods and paid less attention to traditional practices. We conducted 500 questionnaires in five local municipalities in Kwazulu-Natal (KZN), and 122 questionnaires in four local municipalities in Vhembe district in Limpopo, South Africa, to document indigenous knowledge about edible insects’ consumption, collection, and preparation methods used in Limpopo and KZN. Eight insect species belonging to five insect orders were used as food in Limpopo and KZN, with mopane worms (94%) and termites (70%) being the most preferred species by respondents in Limpopo and KZN, respectively. Ninety-five percent of the respondents occasionally consumed insects in Limpopo, while only 28% did so in KZN. Nutritional benefits and tradition were the main reasons for consuming insects. Edible insects are a nutritious diet and play an important role in people’s livelihoods in rural areas. However, there was a notable decline in entomophagy, particularly in KZN. The decline may be related to occidental acculturation, discomfort associated with eating insects, and declining insect availability. To promote entomophagy, the authorities should encourage people to include edible insects in their diets because of their nutritional value. In addition, edible insect flour should be incorporated in food products such as biscuits, bread, energy bars, cereal, and cookies to promote acceptability.

Many studies have focused on the impacts of climate change on biological assemblages, yet little is known about how climate interacts with other major anthropogenic influences on biodiversity, such as habitat disturbance. Using a unique global database of 1128 local ant assemblages, we examined whether climate mediates the effects of habitat disturbance on assemblage structure at a global scale. Species richness and evenness were associated positively with temperature, and negatively with disturbance. However, the interaction among temperature, precipitation and disturbance shaped species richness and evenness. The effect was manifested through a failure of species richness to increase substantially with temperature in transformed habitats at low precipitation. At low precipitation levels, evenness increased with temperature in undisturbed sites, peaked at medium temperatures in disturbed sites and remained low in transformed sites. In warmer climates with lower rainfall, the effects of increasing disturbance on species richness and evenness were akin to decreases in temperature of up to 9°C. Anthropogenic disturbance and ongoing climate change may interact in complicated ways to shape the structure of assemblages, with hot, arid environments likely to be at greatest risk.