Mosquitoes have been found in Iceland for the first time, following record-breaking heat that may have created conditions suitable for their survival.
Insect enthusiast Bjorn Hjaltason discovered the mosquitoes last week in Kjós, a glacial valley southwest of Reykjavik, while using wine-soaked ropes to observe moths. He captured two female mosquitoes and one male, later confirmed by the Icelandic Institute of Natural History to be Culiseta annulata, a species capable of surviving winter.
Until now, Iceland and Antarctica were considered the world’s only mosquito-free zones, thanks to Iceland’s cold climate and lack of stagnant water. Hjaltason described his discovery as a sign that “the last fortress seems to have fallen.”
Entomologist Matthías Alfreðsson confirmed the identification and said the insects are common across Europe and North Africa, though it remains unclear how they arrived in Iceland. He suggested they could have arrived via ships or containers at nearby Grundartangi port.
Experts believe rising temperatures may have played a key role. Iceland’s Met Office recorded multiple new temperature records this year, including its hottest May day ever at 26.6°C (79.8°F). Normally, the country experiences temperatures below 20°C (68°F), but this year heatwaves lasted up to ten consecutive days.
A Global Heat Health Information Network study warned that such temperature changes could significantly affect Iceland’s delicate ecosystems, which are finely adapted to cold conditions.
Further monitoring will be needed next spring to determine whether the mosquito population has become established in Iceland.
“I could tell right away this was something I had never seen before,” Hjaltason said. “If three of them came straight into my garden, there were probably more.”
