Mosquito found in Iceland for first time after record-breaking spring heat

Mosquitoes have been discovered in Iceland for the first time following an unusually warm spring that broke temperature records across the country.

According to local reports, insect enthusiast Bjorn Hjaltason came across the insects while conducting night-time moth observations using wine-soaked ropes. Over several evenings, he captured two female mosquitoes and one male, later confirmed by experts as Culiseta annulata — a hardy species known for its ability to withstand cold winters.

Until now, Iceland and Antarctica were considered the only places on Earth free from mosquitoes, a status long credited to Iceland’s typically cold climate. The recent discovery was made in Kjós, a glacial valley located southwest of Reykjavik.

Hjaltason shared details of the find on a local wildlife Facebook page, posting photographs and describing what he initially thought was “a strange fly on a red wine ribbon.”

He wrote that he immediately recognized the insect as something unfamiliar, adding that it felt as though “the last fortress seems to have fallen.”

Experts say the presence of mosquitoes in Iceland could be linked to the island’s rising temperatures, part of a broader pattern of changing climate conditions in the North Atlantic region.