What's the average life span of mosquitoes? Assuming the climate in Iceland has become warm enough for them to survive there, how did they get there in the first place? Is the atmosphere just full of insect eggs?
The species in the article is already adapted to cold weather. They will find out in the spring if it is adapted well enough to survive the icelandic winter
It is remarkable this is the first time mosquitos have been found in the wild in Iceland though. Even if they died out in the winter, you would expect some to hide in shipping containers and lay eggs all summer. Which is how we got Tiger Mosquitos in New Jersey, and now it doesn't get cold enough to kill them and it is so much worse than it used to be.
Saw a tiger mosquito for the first time in Boston last fall. Reported it to the state but it is a losing battle and they are steadily establishing residency. Back again this season so a moderately cold winter still did not kill them off. They are extremely annoying as their primary prey are humans and they are very good at biting you without noticing - then comes the itch. Especially in late August into Oct.
They probably hitched a ride on human travel. The article says "It’s unclear how the mosquito arrived in Iceland, but theories include the possibility it came via ships or containers."
Iceland per my visits isn't frigid on average 20 to 45 degrees Fahrenheit in January. In it's capital at least. Overall im surprised they called it IceLand vs. WindLand. The wind is fierce.
Iceland is plenty icy enough on its own. Lots of glaciers. But instead of covering 99% of the island, like Greenland, it's just a significant portion of it, instead. Also the weather there isn't particularly warm or great, even if it's more hospitable than Greenland
