Mosquitoes appear in Iceland for the first time : NPR

A Slide canceled The mosquito, which can be seen here at Stodmarsh Nature Reserve in the UK, was first discovered in Iceland.

Robert Pickett/Alami


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Robert Pickett/Alami

Icelanders may be the last group of people on Earth to experience the annoying mosquito bite.

This week, Iceland recorded the presence of insects on its territory for the first time in the history of the Scandinavian country.

Opening three Slide canceled mosquitoes was confirmed on Monday The Icelandic Institute of Natural Sciences said the mosquitoes most likely arrived by freight and appeared to be able to withstand Iceland's climate. (There were previous reports of mosquitoes found on airplanes in Iceland.)

The institute noted that the mosquitoes were one of a number of new insect species discovered in Iceland in recent years due to a warming climate and increased international travel.

Insect enthusiast Bjorn Hjaltason said he found the mosquitoes on a farm in Kjos, north of Reykjavik, earlier this month.

“At dusk on the evening of October 16, I noticed a strange fly on a red wine ribbon,” Hjaltason said. told the Icelandic TV channel RUV. “I immediately suspected what was going on and quickly grabbed the fly. It was a female.”

Hjaltason later caught two more. All three insects were handed over to authorities for testing, which revealed that they were two female and one male mosquitoes.

Antarctica now the only place in the world It is believed that there are no mosquitoes.

Climate change is causing temperatures to rise around the world, and the Arctic region warming is happening more than twice as fast world average.

According to the Icelandic Institute of Natural Sciences, the species Slide canceled Large mosquitoes, present in Europe and other northern European countries, can live in cold weather, usually finding refuge in outbuildings and basements.

Although they sting, the institute said they do not carry known infections in these areas. One study since 2017 said Slide canceled often “regarded as a nuisance rather than a mortal enemy.”

There are more than 3,000 species of mosquitoes in the world, some of which can transmit severe and even fatal diseases through their bites, such as malaria, dengue fever and West Nile virus.

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