Oct 23, 2025 20:00:00

Finally, the presence of 'mosquitoes' has been reported for the first time in Iceland, and only Antarctica is free of mosquitoes

Iceland was the only country in the world to be listed on

the World Population Review 's 'Mosquito-Free Countries 2025,' which compiles various population data from around the world and displays them on a map. However, on October 20, 2025, the Icelandic Natural History Institute announced that mosquitoes had been spotted in the country for the first time.

Moskítófluga greind á Íslandi í fyrsta sinn |
https://www.natt.is/is/frettir/2025/10/moskitofluga-greind-islandi-i-fyrsta-sinn

Mosquitoes appear in Iceland for the first time : NPR
https://www.npr.org/2025/10/22/nx-s1-5582748/iceland-mosquitoes-first-time

Iceland has lush greenery and seasonal temperatures, providing the conditions necessary for insect survival, but mosquitoes are not present. According to the World Population Review, Iceland's unique climate and ecosystem, as well as a lack of warm, stagnant water, which mosquitoes need to breed, make it unsuitable for mosquito breeding.

Bjorn Hjartasson, who manages a farm in the Kjøs region of southwest Iceland, discovered three small, unfamiliar winged insects attached to a red wine trap used to attract butterflies between October 16th and 18th, 2025. Hjartasson, an insect enthusiast, immediately realized that they were a species he had never seen before, so he sent a specimen of the insects he discovered to an entomologist at the Icelandic Institute of Natural History.

Examination of the flying insects revealed that they were a species of mosquito called '

Culiseta annulata .' Of the three, two were female and one was male. Below is a photo of Culiseta annulata posted by the Icelandic Natural History Institute, with a female on the left and a male on the right. The thumbnail is pixelated, but you can click on the image to see the original photo.

Culiseta annulata is widely distributed throughout Europe and has adapted to relatively cold climates, but this is the first time this species has been spotted in Iceland. Although Culiseta annulata feeds on blood, it is not known to transmit infectious diseases and is therefore considered to be of low risk to humans.

It's unclear how Culiseta annulata arrived on the Icelandic farm, but the Icelandic Natural History Institute says it was likely transported by cargo and survived in the Icelandic environment for some time.

While mosquitoes have been reported on airplanes in Iceland, this is the first time that a significant number of mosquitoes have been found in the country. The Icelandic Natural History Institute stated that 'global warming and increased transport volume are factors' in the first-ever mosquito infestation in the country. The discovery of mosquitoes in Iceland, the only region classified as a country that was thought to be mosquito-free, means that Antarctica is now the only region in the world that is thought to be mosquito-free.

The Icelandic Institute of Natural History will continue to monitor the movement of Culiseta annulata and urges members of the public to send in photos or specimens of any mosquitoes resembling this species in the country.