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Iceland was long one of the very few inhabited places with no mosquitoes; the first ones were found there in October 2025.

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ScienceNature

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Biologists' main explanation for Iceland's long mosquito-free record is its changeable winters: repeated cycles of freezing, thawing and freezing again can kill larvae before they grow into flying adults. On 16 October 2025, at Kiðafell in the Kjós district north of Reykjavík, a local insect enthusiast caught several mosquitoes, which experts identified as Culiseta annulata, a large, cold-hardy species common across Europe. Both males and females were among them, and they were the first confirmed in the country. No more were found during the summer of 2026, so for now this looks like a one-off arrival rather than a settled population, although warmer winters could make one more likely in future.

Türkçe oku
İzlanda, sivrisineğin hiç görülmediği ender ülkelerden biri olarak bilinirdi. Ülkedeki ilk sivrisinekler Ekim 2025'te bulundu.

Biyologlara göre İzlanda'da uzun süre sivrisinek bulunmamasının başlıca nedeni, ülkenin kararsız kışlarıdır: Art arda donma, çözülme ve yeniden donma, larvaları uçabilen sivrisineklere dönüşmeden öldürebilir. 16 Ekim 2025'te, Reykjavík'in kuzeyindeki Kjós bölgesinde, Kiðafell'de böceklere meraklı bir yerel sakin birkaç sivrisinek yakaladı. Uzmanlar bunları, Avrupa'da yaygın olan ve soğuğa dayanıklı iri bir tür, Culiseta annulata olarak tanımladı. Aralarında hem erkek hem dişi vardı ve bunlar ülkede doğrulanan ilk sivrisineklerdi. 2026 yazında başka sivrisinek bulunmadı; bu yüzden şimdilik yerleşik bir topluluk değil, tek seferlik bir geliş gibi görünüyor. Yine de ısınan kışlar, ileride kalıcı bir topluluğun oluşmasını kolaylaştırabilir.

Sources and further reading

Background reading: Fauna of Iceland
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