Iceland, one of the last places on Earth to be free of mosquitoes, recorded its first sighting this month. Scientists say warming is making the country more hospitable to the insects.
With its plentiful ponds and marshes, Iceland is, in many ways, highly suitable for mosquitoes. Though the island is frigid for most of the year, it is one of the fastest-warming regions on the planet, making it increasingly welcoming to mosquitoes.
Last week, insect enthusiast Björn Hjaltason found three mosquitoes in his garden in the town of Kjós. “I could tell right away that this was something I had never seen before,” he told the Icelandic newspaper Morgunblaðið.
Hjaltason sent the mosquitoes to Matthías Alfreðsson, an insect specialist at the Icelandic Institute of Natural History, who confirmed they belonged to the species Culiseta annulata, a type of mosquito that is commonly found in Northern Europe. It remains to be seen if the insects will survive the winter and take root in Iceland.
Alfreðsson told RÚV, the national public broadcaster, that the mosquitoes were the first to be spotted on Icelandic soil — though mosquitoes have previously been found on incoming boats and planes. Before this month, Iceland and Antarctica were the only regions to have no recorded mosquitoes. Now, only Antarctica remains mosquito-free.
Culiseta annulata is not known to carry disease, but as the planet warms, more dangerous mosquito species are moving into colder regions, threatening the spread of yellow fever, dengue fever, Zika, and other tropical diseases. Scientists recently reported that Asian tiger mosquitoes, a species known to carry dengue fever, has been discovered in the U.K. They say the south coast of England has been suitable for the species since the 2010s.
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