Mosquitoes infiltrated Iceland. Will they survive the winter?

Iceland’s first mosquitoes are poised to face a frosty test. Winter is coming, and it’s uncertain whether these newcomers might stick around until spring.

The Nordic island, previously one of the last places on Earth without mosquitoes, hosted at least a few Culiseta annulata mosquitoes this year, the Natural Science Institute of Iceland announced October 21. In mid-October, local resident Björn Hjaltason captured two female and one male mosquito using a ribbon soaked in red wine while on a farm north of the capital, Reykjavík. The ribbon usually attracts moths but also lured the mosquitoes, the first confirmed in Iceland.

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