"This follows record-breaking heat this past summer, which has sped up the glacial melting in the country. On October 16, insect enthusiast Bjorn Hjaltason posted on a Facebook group Skordyr og Nytjadyr A Islandi (Insects in Iceland) that he had spotted mosquitoes in Kidafell, Kjos at dusk that day. He said he had caught some using a red wine ribbon, a trap using sweetened wine as bait to attract insects."
"Hjaltason sent the mosquitoes to the Natural Science Institute of Iceland, where entomologist Matthias Alfredsson confirmed they were indeed mosquitoes. Alfredsson identified the mosquitoes as belonging to the Culiseta annulata species. This cold-resistant species is native to the Palearctic, which refers to Europe, North Africa and most of Asia north of the Himalayas. The Cuilseta annulata are not known to carry disease, but are generally considered a nuisance."
Mosquitoes were detected in Iceland for the first time, causing the country to lose its mosquito-free status. Observations were made on October 16 in Kidafell, Kjos, where an insect enthusiast captured specimens using a sweetened-wine trap. Samples were sent to the Natural Science Institute of Iceland and confirmed as mosquitoes by an entomologist. The specimens were identified as Culiseta annulata, a cold-resistant Palearctic species that overwinters as adults in sheltered structures. Culiseta annulata are not known to carry disease in these regions and are typically considered a nuisance. Warmer temperatures and accelerated glacial melt are linked to the detection.
Read at www.aljazeera.com
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