Researchers detect mosquitoes in Iceland for the first time

For the first time, mosquitoes have been discovered in Iceland, a researcher told News on Monday. He volcanically active country It has long been one of the few mosquito-free places in the world.

Three Culiseta annulata mosquitoes, two females and one male, were spotted about 32 kilometers north of Reykjavik, the country’s capital, according to Matthías Alfreðsson, an entomologist at the Icelandic Institute of Natural Sciences.

“They were all collected from wine ropes… with the goal of attracting moths,” the researcher said in an email, referring to a method of adding sugar to heated wine and dipping ropes or strips of cloth into the solution, which are then hung outside to attract greedy insects.

Local newspaper Icelandic Monitor reported that the insects had been found in the backyard of a residence. Björn Hjaltason said he saw the mosquitoes for several days. He captured the insects and sent them to Alfreðsson for identification, the outlet reported.

“If three of them walked right into my yard, there would probably be more,” Hjaltason told the publication.

Along with Antarctica, Iceland has long been one of the few places on the planet without a mosquito population. Iceland’s neighboring countries, Norway, Scotland and Greenland, are home to mosquitoes, according to Live Science.

“It is the first record of mosquitoes in the natural environment of Iceland. Many years ago a single specimen of Aedes nigripes (a species of arctic mosquito) was collected from a plane at Keflavik airport,” Alfredsson said, adding that “unfortunately, that specimen has been lost.”

Its presence could “indicate a recent introduction into the country, possibly via ships or containers,” he said, but further monitoring would be necessary in the spring to determine its further spread.

Rising temperatures, longer summers and milder winters, all caused by climate changecreate a more favorable environment for mosquitoes to thrive. Iceland has taken important steps to fight climate change, including opening a large carbon capture facility and establish the first on the planet direct air capture plant.

But Alfredsson did not believe that a warmer climate explained the discovery. The species “seems to be well adapted to colder climates,” he said, which “allows them to withstand long, harsh winters when temperatures drop below freezing.”

He added that their “diverse breeding habitats…further enhance their ability to persist in the challenging environment of Iceland.”

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