LONDON: Mosquitoes have been discovered in Iceland for the first time in recorded history.
Three specimens were found this month in Kjos, a rural valley area near Hvalfjordur.
Insect enthusiast Bjorn Hjaltason first reported the finding in the Facebook group Skordyr a Islandi (Insects in Iceland).
The samples were handed over to the Icelandic Institute of Natural History for analysis.
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.
This prediction gained particular relevance 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. – Bernama-Anadolu
