After the normally cool country experienced record-breaking temperatures this spring, mosquitoes that had previously been prevented from living there by the cold have been found in Iceland for the first time, the BBC reports.
Entomology enthusiast Bjorn Hjaltason found the mosquitoes on a wine-soaked rope he was using to observe moths for several evenings in mid-October. Iceland was previously one of only two places in the world without mosquitoes, partly due to its cold climate. The other place without mosquitoes is Antarctica.
The mosquitoes were found in a glacial valley southwest of the Icelandic capital, Reykjavik. Hjaltason said in a Facebook post that it was the first time he had seen them, and it looked like the last stronghold had fallen. He took the captured insects to the Icelandic Institute of Natural History, where entomologist Matthías Alfreðsson confirmed his suspicions. The mosquito species found is Culiseta annulata, one of the few that can hibernate. Alfreðsson told CNN that the mosquito species is usually found in Europe and North Africa, and it is not clear how the insects got to Iceland.
Mosquitoes have not been seen in Iceland before because the climate is too cold for them
and there are few places with standing water in which the insects can breed. However, this year the country has broken several heat records. Normally, the temperature in Iceland in May rarely exceeds 20 degrees, and even when the air warms up, heat waves tend not to last more than two or three days. However, this year, in various parts of the country, the air has warmed up to 20 degrees for ten days in a row.
A study published in June noted that such changes could have a significant impact on more fragile ecosystems that are adapted to cold climates and are sensitive to temperature changes. 2024 was the hottest year on record, and the UN has said that human activities have undoubtedly had an impact on the warming of the atmosphere, oceans and land.
Alfreðsson said that additional monitoring will need to be carried out in the spring to determine whether the insects have indeed established themselves in Iceland.
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