A quickly warming planet is bad news for many animals and plants. For some, though, it may be good news. Take a look.

TICKS

As winters get milder, these blood-suckers may be able to live in more places and be more active all year round.
The bad news: Some ticks carry diseases that harm humans and animals. Some can even make animals sick by sucking too much blood when there are too many of them feeding all at once.

TIGER MOSQUITO

Meet a striped invader that was once found only in Asia. Now it feels at home in new places that used to get much colder—and stayed colder for longer.
The bad news: The warming climate lets this little tiger go through extra breeding cycles each season to make even more mosquitoes. With more mosquitoes, you can expect more mosquito bites! You probably think of mosquitoes as buzzy nighttime pests. But this kind flits around quietly during the day. And it may carry diseases that are harmful to both humans and animals.

FIRE ANT

This South American ant got into the United States by accident. But it liked its new home in the warm Southeast enough to stick around. As climate change makes other parts of the country warmer, fire ants will be able to spread even farther.
The bad news: Fire ants are super aggressive toward anything that disturbs their colony. They’ll quickly swarm an intruder, all stinging at once with their painful venom.

BROWN MARMORATED STINK BUG

This insect from Asia somehow found its way into the United States. A warming climate makes stink bugs feel right at home here, where they can raise more and more and more baby bugs.
The bad news: In some places, these bugs can do a lot of damage to crops. They also make stinky, unwanted guests when they move into your house for the winter. Pee-yew!

JELLYFISH

Certain kinds of jellyfish sometimes have natural population explosions, called blooms. Scientists have noticed that they now seem to have more of them, in more places, and more often. They suspect that the warming ocean water has something to do with it. And that’s just fine for the jellies.
The bad news: Well, you wouldn’t want to swim too close to a jellyfish bloom. All those tentacles zapping you with their stingers. . . OUCH!

POISON IVY

Plants naturally take in carbon dioxide (CO2) and release oxygen: a good thing. For most plants, the more CO2 there is to take in, the bigger and faster they grow. Plus, a warming planet means a longer growing season. This plant is a champ at growing bigger, stronger, and for a longer time.
The bad news: There may be more poison ivy to watch out for. (Don’t forget the “leaves of three, let it be” rule.) The extra CO2 may also make poison ivy produce a stronger poison. Uh-oh!

ALGAE

Climate change means more severe storms. Heavy rains wash whatever is on farms and lawns—especially fertilizers—down into waterways. For seaweed and other plant-like algae, that’s like a big buffet that makes them bloom (grow) like crazy!
The bad news: When algae grow too fast, they cover too much of the water’s surface. That blocks sunlight from reaching underwater plants. As those plants die, they create a new buffet—but this time, for bacteria! The increase in bacteria causes oxygen levels to drop. That means less oxygen for the fish and other creatures that live there. Then, when the algae die, they become slimy, stinky, and gross. They also can release poisons into the water and air.

Climate change may make life easier for species such as these. But their success can lead to big problems for others!