Overview
- Three Culiseta annulata were verified by the Natural Science Institute of Iceland on Oct. 20 after being collected in Kiðafell, Kjós, marking the nation’s first confirmed wild records.
- The specimens—identified as one female and two males—were caught on red wine traps used for moth surveys and were sent in by a citizen scientist.
- Researchers have not determined how the insects arrived, with possibilities including transport on ships or containers, as regional warming may also be increasing their chances of persistence.
- Iceland had long been considered effectively mosquito-free, leaving Antarctica as the only place without mosquitoes documented.
- Experts assess low immediate disease risk for Iceland’s climate but will expand surveillance, especially in spring, to check for overwintering and signs of establishment.