For First Time, Mosquitoes Found In Iceland After Country Records Record Heat

For the first time, mosquitoes have been found in Iceland after the country recorded a record-breaking heat this spring.

According to BBC, insect enthusiast Bjorn Hjaltason encountered the mosquitoes over several nights last week while using wine-soaked ropes to observe moths.

In a Facebook post, he said the mosquitoes found in Kjós, a glacial valley to the South West of the Icelandic capital of Reykjavik, were two female mosquitoes and one male which were later confirmed to be Culiseta annulata, one of few species that can successfully survive winter.

“At dusk on October 16, I caught sight of a strange fly. I could tell right away that this was something I had never seen before” he said, adding that “the last fortress seems to have fallen”.

According

to BBC, Hjaltason has sent the insects to the Icelandic Institute of Natural History to be identified, where entomologist Matthías Alfreðsson confirmed his suspicions.

Alfreðsson told CNN that the species are commonly found across parts of Europe and North Africa and it remains unknown how they reached Iceland.

Meanwhile, the World Population Review reported that Iceland’s cold climate and lack of stagnant water in which the insects can breed are key contributors to the country’s former lack of mosquitoes.

Besides Antartica, Iceland did not have any mosquitoes.

This year, Iceland recorded its hottest ever day in May, with temperatures reaching 26.6C (79.8F) at Eglisstaðir Airport.