Bzzzzzzzt. Smack! Sigh.
Mosquitos have been found in Iceland for the first time ever as warming environments due to climate change expand the range of the deadly arthropod.
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Icelandic citizen scientist Björn Hjaltason first reported their presence on Oct. 16 after encountering one while searching for unique moths.
“I could tell right away that this was something I had never seen before,” he told Iceland Monitor.
Hjaltason caught two additional mosquitos on subsequent days, then sent all three to the Icelandic Institute of Natural History where entomologist Matthías Alfreðsson confirmed the discovery of Culiseta annulata, a large ― and cold-resistant ― species.
Until now, the island nation was one of only two mosquito-free spots in the world. Per the BBC, Antarctica is the other.
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Gísli Már Gíslason, a professor of aquatic biology at the University of Iceland, told the Icelandic National Broadcasting Service the species will likely survive the winter.
“In the north like here, it seeks out basements, attics, outbuildings, and other places where the temperature is above freezing. That way, it lives as an adult fly over the winter, so that it can continue its life cycle the following year,” he said.
While Hjaltason speculated the pest might have arrived via a container ship in a nearby port, Gíslason presciently noted in a 2017 interview that it was likely only a matter of time since some species can survive for hours in deep subzero temperatures in aircraft landing gear.
“The reason why mosquitoes are absent [from Iceland] probably has something to do with the climate,” he told the Reykjavik Grapevine at the time. “Icelandic winters are variable. There can be a sudden rise in temperature in the middle of winter with a thaw, then the temperature will drop again. These are unfavorable conditions for adult mosquitoes.”
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“We can be concerned about climate change. With global warming, Iceland may not be mosquito-free forever. A warming planet means the insects could have a better chance of reproducing, without the cold weather getting in their way.”
