Scientists have confirmed the first-ever discovery of mosquitoes in Iceland a finding they say may signal how rapidly the planet’s climate is warming.
Until now, Iceland was one of only two regions on Earth believed to be mosquito-free, the other being Antarctica. But as global temperatures rise, insects are spreading to places that were once too cold to sustain them.
Three mosquitoes of the Culiseta annulata species were found earlier this month in Kiðafell, Kjós about 30 kilometers north of Reykjavík according to the Natural Science Institute of Iceland.
The discovery was made by Björn Hjaltason, an amateur naturalist, who noticed what he called a “strange fly” caught on a red wine ribbon trap used to attract moths. After sharing photos in a Facebook group for insect enthusiasts, he sent the specimens two females and one male to the Icelandic Institute of Natural History for analysis.
“I could tell right away that this was something I had never seen before,” Hjaltason told the newspaper Morgunblaðið.
Matthías Alfreðsson, an insect specialist at the institute, confirmed to Iceland’s national broadcaster RÚV that the mosquitoes were indeed the first ever recorded in Iceland’s natural environment.
While a single mosquito had previously been found on an aircraft at Keflavík International Airport, Alfreðsson told CNN this marks “the first time mosquitoes have been detected in nature in Iceland.”
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