Mosquitoes discovered in Iceland for first time

LONDON

For the first time in recorded history, mosquitoes have been found in Iceland, with three specimens discovered this month in Kjos, a rural valley area near Hvalfjordur.

The finding was first reported by insect enthusiast Bjorn Hjaltason in the Facebook group Skordyr a Islandi (Insects in Iceland), the Icelandic National Broadcasting Service said Monday.

The samples were handed over to the Icelandic Institute of Natural History for analysis, where entomologist Matthias Alfredsson confirmed that they were indeed mosquitoes.

The species has been identified as Culiseta annulata, a cold-tolerant mosquito common in northern Europe.

“It is very likely that the mosquito is here to stay,” Matthias said. “It tends to keep itself warm over the winter in shaded places such as cellars and livestock houses.”

Although mosquitoes have occasionally arrived in Iceland as stowaways on airplanes, this marks the first time they have been discovered living on Icelandic soil.

Scientists have long predicted that mosquitoes could eventually establish themselves in Iceland, particularly after biting midges became established there in 2015.

The discovery of mosquitoes in Iceland underscores how climate and environmental changes may be expanding the range of cold-tolerant insect species further north than ever before.