"Those piece of sh*ts are evolving!!!!": Internet reacts to Iceland's first-ever mosquito sighting reports

Climate change is showing its impact yet again with the latest development out of Iceland. For the first time in the country’s history, mosquitoes have been detected within their biome, a sign of the effects of global warming. This is especially significant news as Iceland was previously too cold and ecologically unfit to sustain the species.

According to ABC News, local insect enthusiast Björn Hjaltason first spotted what he perceived to be a “strange fly” on October 16 while using wine-soaked ropes to observe moths and posted a photo of it on Facebook. This incident was the first report of a mosquito in Iceland, and his reaction was rather telling. Hjaltason, as per the BBC, stated,

"I could tell right away that this was something I had never seen before the last fortress seems to have fallen."

Shortly thereafter, the Natural Science Institute of Iceland entomologist Matthías Alfreðsson confirmed the presence of a total of 3 documented mosquitoes in the country via a conversation with The Guardian.

As per the World Population Review, Antarctica is the only remaining location on Earth free of mosquitoes.

X (formerly Twitter) account, Pop Base, posted about the news on their official handle,

Shortly after the story broke, social media erupted with opinions about the latest news from Iceland.

A user stated,

"Those piece of sh*ts are evolving !!!! We're all gonna dieeeee"

A few users expressed their emotions about the news through GIFs and images. Another user imagined how the conspiracy theorists on the video-sharing platform TikTok must have been feeling.

A user on X, emphasizing the adaptability of the mosquitoes, stated,

"They got to Iceland too."

Another user ruminated on the pervasive nature of humanity,

"Humanity keeps finding new ways to ruin every untouched corner of the planet. Iceland was one of the last peaceful escapes, and now even that’s been invaded by flying vampires with zero respect for boundaries. It’s not nature adapting, it’s a global infestation with a passport. At this rate, Antarctica better build a border wall made of ice before the mosquitoes show up with thermal jackets."

An X user, referring to the present as the beginning of the end, stated,

"It’s the beginning of the end y'all (crying emoji) thanks to everyone who didn’t care about climate change."

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Temperatures in Iceland reach record highs, more

Previously, Iceland’s weather, the lack of stagnant water, as well as other environmental factors were a deterrent for mosquito life. But with temperatures now reaching record highs, a set of circumstances has arisen where mosquitoes could potentially thrive.

Case in point, Iceland rarely experiences temperatures exceeding 68°F in May, and if so, it is a decidedly rare occurrence. It has crossed that threshold 10 times in different parts of the country this year. Iceland also experienced its hottest ever recorded temperature in May, when it rose to 79.8°F.

2024 was incidentally reported as the world’s hottest year to date, as per BBC reports, demonstrating the devastating effects of our cumulative impact on the environment.

As for how the mosquitoes reached Iceland, no theory has been confirmed, but Björn Hjaltason (who first spotted the mosquito) ventured a guess, as reported by the BBC,

"One always suspects Grundartangi - it's only about six kilometers from me, and things often arrive with ships and containers, so it's possible something came in that way.”

According to the NIH, the exact species of mosquito in Iceland is the Culiseta annulata, a cold-tolerant species that lives in the Palearctic region, which includes Northern Africa, Europe, and Asia north of the Himalayas.

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