For the first time, mosquitoes have been found in Iceland, a country previously free of the insects alongside only Antarctica. Three specimens of the cold-resistant Culiseta annulata species were collected in Kiðafell, Kjós, amid warming temperatures driven by the climate crisis. This discovery highlights how global heating is altering ecosystems in the Arctic region.
Iceland has long been one of the few places on Earth without mosquitoes, but that changed this October. On October 16, citizen scientist Björn Hjaltason spotted what he suspected was a mosquito while using a red wine ribbon trap to attract insects at dusk in Kiðafell, Kjós. "I caught sight of a strange fly on a red wine ribbon," Hjaltason recounted in a post on the Facebook group Insects in Iceland. "I immediately suspected what was going on and quickly collected the fly. It was a female." He collected two more specimens and sent them to the Natural Science Institute of Iceland for identification.
Entomologist Matthías Alfreðsson at the institute confirmed the finds, identifying three Culiseta annulata mosquitoes—two females and one male—all captured from wine ropes during moth-trapping efforts. "Three specimens of Culiseta annulata were found in Kiðafell, Kjós, two females and one male. They were all collected from wine ropes during wine roping aimed at attracting moths," Alfreðsson stated.
This species is notably cold-resistant, capable of surviving Iceland's harsh winters by sheltering in basements and barns. Scientists had anticipated such an arrival, given the abundance of breeding sites like marshes and ponds. The Arctic is warming at four times the global average, and Iceland has seen record heat this year, along with collapsing glaciers and the appearance of warmer-water fish like mackerel in its seas.
While many insect species may struggle in Iceland's climate, this development underscores the broader impacts of climate change, potentially paving the way for more invasive species that could carry diseases, as seen elsewhere in Europe.