Mosquitoes Have Been Found in Iceland for the First Time Ever

Mosquitoes are one of the most widespread pests on Earth. Over the species’ 217-million-year history, they have spread widely, with freezing temperatures in Antarctica and only some parts of the Arctic preventing them from surviving.

As global temperatures rise, this is beginning to change. Iceland, once one of the last mosquito-free places on the planet, has recorded its first sighting of the biting insect. This week insect enthusiast Björn Haltasson discovered a male and female specimen in his garden in Keafell, Kios, and shared his discovery at the Insects of Iceland group on Facebook.

“I can tell right away that this is something I’ve never seen before,” he told Icelandic newspaper Morgunblaðið.

Iceland’s climate is changing rapidly

Hjaltasson collected the mosquitoes and sent them to Matthias Alfresson, an entomologist at the Icelandic Institute of Natural History. He confirmed that the samples belong to this species Coliseta anulataIt is native to Europe, Central Asia, and North Africa.

The mosquitoes were the first to be spotted on Icelandic soil, Alfrisson told RUV, Iceland’s national public broadcasting service. Before Hyaltasson’s discovery, Iceland and Antarctica were the only mosquito-free places on Earth. Now, only Antarctica remains.

It is too early to say whether this is possible C. Annular These creatures have settled permanently in Iceland, but scientists have long predicted that cold-resistant species like these could thrive there as global temperatures rise. Since the cold of the Arctic is no longer a reliable obstacle, Iceland’s swamps, ponds and wetlands will provide fertile breeding grounds for these insects.

Mosquitoes already present in Iceland could survive next winter if temperatures remain above average. In May, both Iceland and Greenland experienced record temperatures. These heat waves were a symptom of a larger phenomenon known as Arctic amplification, in which the region warmed four times faster than the rest of the planet.

Global takeover

Iceland isn’t the only place where invasive mosquitoes are showing up. Around the world, species are expanding northward as global warming makes previously uninhabitable areas suitable for them. This poses a major threat to public health as some of these species carry diseases such as malaria, yellow fever and dengue to new areas.

Experts are not considered C. Annular They are a major vector of disease, although they can transmit tahini virus, a non-life-threatening disease that causes influenza-like symptoms in humans. However, the emergence of mosquitoes in Iceland may have greater ecological consequences, potentially disrupting the food web and competing with native insects.

All this remains to be seen. C. Annular They will have to survive the Icelandic winter first, but if global warming trends are any indication, they may not be the last mosquito species to find a foothold there.