Until now, Iceland was one of the few countries in the world where there were no mosquitoes thanks to its climatic conditions. However, global warming is changing this reality.
Three specimens of mosquitoes of the species ‘Culiseta annulata’ were discovered in Kidafell, a rural area in Iceland, in the municipality of Kjósarhreppur, about 40 kilometers from the country’s capital, Reykjavik.
Until now, Iceland and Antarctica were one of the few places in the world where these insects were not found, but the Global warming is changing that. In Iceland, the new It is not, however, a surprise.
Scientists already predicted that this could happen since there are many habitats suitable for reproduction, such as swamps and lakes. The harsh climate was what prevented this from happening. As Iceland is warming four times faster than the rest of the Northern Hemisphere, what was once an obstacle is no longer an obstacle.
Björn Hjaltason, the scientist who discovered mosquitoes, posted in the Facebook group Insects in Iceland: “At dusk on October 16th, I saw a strange fly on a ribbon of red wine [armadilha que usa para atrair insetos].”
“Immediately I suspected what was happening and quickly caught the fly. It was a female,” he said.
The scientist collected two more specimens and sent them to the Icelandic Institute of Natural Sciences, where the specimens were identified and the discovery confirmed by Matthías Alfredssonentomologist at the institute. Alfredsson confirmed: there were “three specimens of Culiseta annulata”, two females and one male.
The species of these mosquitoes is Cold resistant and can survive Icelandic weather conditionssheltering during the winter in cellars and barns.
As the planet warms, More species of mosquitoes have been found throughout the world. In the UK, eggs of the Egyptian mosquito (Aedes aegypti) were found this year, and the Asian tiger mosquito (Aedes albopictus) was discovered in Kent. The problem is that these mosquitoes They are invasive species that can transmit tropical diseases, such as dengue, chikungunya and zika.
