Berlin – Three mosquitoes were identified in Iceland this October, which constitutes the first discovery of this family of insects in the history of the island, until now considered one of the few countries in the world lacking them.
The discovery was announced in the Facebook group ‘Insects in Iceland’ by fan Björn Hjaltason, who spotted on October 16 in the municipality of Kjós (south) what seemed at first glance “a strange-looking fly,” as reported on Monday by public television RUV.
After this specimen Hjaltason found two others, which he delivered for analysis to the Institute of Natural History of Iceland, which confirmed his initial suspicions that they were mosquitoes.
Entomologist Matthías Alfredsson, from the Institute of Natural History, explained to RUV that it was the ‘culiseta annulata’ species, which is very resistant to cold, so it is likely that the mosquito has arrived in Iceland to stay.
Alfredsson confirmed that this is the first time that mosquitoes have been found living on the island’s territory, although in the past some specimens had been discovered in the fuselage of planes that had landed in the country.
Asked about the possible origin of the mosquitoes, Hjaltason told the Icelandic media MBL that he suspected the port of the nearby town of Grundartangi, where ships loaded with containers often arrive.
Scientists had already predicted that it was only a matter of time before species of mosquitoes common in Scandinavia or the British Isles eventually settled in Iceland.
The small island nation, on the edge of the Arctic Circle, was until now one of the few habitable places on earth without mosquitoes, partly due to its geographical isolation, which also makes snakes non-existent.
In addition, the climate – specifically, the rapid succession of freezing and thawing of water that mosquitoes need to lay their eggs and develop into larvae – also made their survival difficult.
However, scientists believe that climate change may bring about warmer autumns and springs, in which the water spends more time without freezing, thus making it easier for its insects to settle.
In Greenland, located at a similar latitude, mosquitoes have been established since the end of the last ice age.