Mosquitoes found in Iceland for the first time amid rising temperatures
The mosquitoes were identified as Culiseta annulata, a cold-tolerant species common in the Palearctic region, including Northern Africa, Europe, and parts of Asia north of the Himalayas.
Mosquitoes have been found in Iceland for the first time as the region warms due to climate change.
Insect enthusiast Björn Hjaltason first spotted a "strange fly" in Kjós on 16 October. He then collected it and found it was a female, sharing the discovery in the Facebook group Insects in Iceland.
Matthías Alfreðsson, entomologist at the Natural Science Institute of Iceland, confirmed to The Guardian that three mosquitoes, two females and one male, were caught using red wine ropes for attracting moths, ABC News reported.
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The mosquitoes were identified as Culiseta annulata, a cold-tolerant species common in the Palearctic region, including Northern Africa, Europe, and parts of Asia north of the Himalayas.
According to the National Institutes of Health, it is the most common species in the UK and has been introduced to Canada and northern US.
Dina Fonseca, director of the Center for Vector Biology at Rutgers University, told ABC News that the species often lays eggs in containers such as rain barrels, buckets, cisterns, flowerpots, and discarded tyres, aiding its spread.
Until now, Iceland was one of two regions too cold for mosquitoes, according to the World Population Review. Lack of warm, stagnant water had prevented breeding, but rising temperatures and seasonal greenery may now allow mosquitoes to survive.
Iceland is warming four times faster than the northern hemisphere due to a steady flow of warm southern air, according to World Weather Attribution.
Antarctica remains the only place on Earth without mosquitoes, according to the report.
Climate change is helping mosquitoes expand their range and breed faster, increasing diseases such as malaria and dengue in Europe, while endemics already exist in Africa, Asia, and Latin America.
Ryan Carney, associate professor at the University of South Florida, said that warmer, wetter conditions increase mosquito survival, extend breeding seasons, and raise infection rates. "Higher temperatures generally make everything worse," he said.
More than one million people die annually from mosquito-borne diseases, according to the American Mosquito Control Association.
Carney praised the citizen-led discovery and encouraged the public to use apps like iNaturalist, Mosquito Alert, and NASA's GLOBE Observer to help scientists monitor mosquitoes, the report added.
