Mosquitoes Have Been Present in Iceland for the First Time Ever

Mosquitoes are one of the crucial pervasive pests on Earth. Over the species’ 217-million-year historical past, they’ve unfold far and large, with solely the frigid temperatures of Antarctica and a few components of the Arctic conserving them at bay.

As world temperatures rise, that’s starting to alter. Iceland, previously one of many final mosquito-free locations on the planet, simply recorded its first sightings of the biting insect. This week, insect fanatic Björn Hjaltason found one male and two feminine specimens in his backyard in Kiðafell, Kjós and shared his discover within the Fb group Insects in Iceland.

“I may inform immediately that this was one thing I had by no means seen earlier than,” he told the Icelandic newspaper Morgunblaðið.

Iceland’s quickly altering local weather

Hjaltason collected the mosquitoes and despatched them to Matthías Alfreðsson, an entomologist on the Icelandic Institute of Pure Historical past. He confirmed that the specimens belonged to the species Culiseta annulata, native to Europe, Central Asia, and North Africa.

Alfreðsson told RUV, Iceland’s nationwide public broadcasting service, that the mosquitoes have been the primary ever noticed on Icelandic soil. Previous to Hjaltason’s discovery, Iceland and Antarctica have been the one mosquito-free locations left on Earth. Now, solely Antarctica stays.

It’s too quickly to say whether or not C. annulata has completely established itself in Iceland, however scientists have lengthy predicted {that a} cold-resistant species like this might thrive there as world temperatures rise. With Arctic chilly not a dependable barrier, Iceland’s marshes, ponds, and wetlands would supply plentiful breeding grounds for these bugs.

Mosquitoes already current in Iceland may survive the approaching winter if temperatures stay above-average. In Could, each Iceland and Greenland experienced record-breaking warmth. These heatwaves have been symptomatic of a bigger phenomenon often known as Arctic amplification, whereby the area has warmed 4 instances sooner than the remainder of the planet.

A worldwide takeover

Iceland is much from the one place the place invasive mosquitos are rising. Throughout the globe, species are increasing northward as world warming makes beforehand uninhabitable areas appropriate for them. This poses a major menace to public well being as a few of these species carry diseases equivalent to malaria, yellow fever, and dengue to new areas.

Specialists don’t contemplate C. annulata to be a serious illness vector, although it might probably transmit Tahyna virus, a non-life-threatening sickness that causes flu-like signs in people. The emergence of mosquitoes in Iceland might have larger ecological penalties, nonetheless, doubtlessly disrupting the meals internet and competing with native bugs.

This all stays to be seen. C. annulata must survive the Icelandic winter first, but when world warming tendencies are any indication, it might not be the final mosquito species to discover a foothold there.