Climate-mediated population dynamics enhance distribution range expansion in a rice pest insect

•Climate factors are influential drivers of insect population dynamics.•We tested the hypothesis that the range of the mirid bug expanded owing to increasing voltinism and emergence synchrony driven by climate factors.•Both theoretical generation number and synchrony of egg hatching date positively influenced the species distribution range.•Climate-mediated population dynamics is a significant factor underlying the range expansion of mirid bugs.