Copyright Arkansas Online
If you want to live somewhere without mosquitoes, you're running out of options. One of the world's last remaining mosquito-free zones has been infiltrated by the bloodsuckers. Three specimens of Culiseta annulata were found in the southwest of Iceland, leaving Antarctica as the only remaining refuge from the biters. Scientists will be monitoring the situation to see whether the trio are a fluke or the start of an established breeding population. Culiseta annulata is a species already well adapted to colder temperatures, so it's plausible that it could easily gain a foothold in the remote island nation. As climates warm and we continue to trade goods and travel, tiny hitchhikers are bound to make their ways to new places. From then, if the conditions are right, it's remarkable how quickly a population can survive and establish itself, as Iceland has discovered. About 10 years ago, Iceland's public broadcaster RUV reported that "a new aggressive bloodsucker ... bit and drew blood from numerous people enjoying the summer weather in Kjós. The bites cause intense itching and rashes." The culprit? The biting midge, also known as "no-see-ums." In the following years, the minuscule nuisances spread across the nation, irritating locals and tourists alike--there's even a song. Biting midges are more irritating than dangerous, and Culiseta annulata is also not known to spread disease, so Iceland will be itchier but ultimately safe. Though the advance of mosquitoes and their diseases are inevitable, particularly as we keep pumping carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, there's a lot we can do to prepare. The UK Health Security Agency has an extensive surveillance program to detect invasive species and prevent their establishment, while the UK government has invested £7 million ($9 million) in research into vector-borne diseases. That momentum must be kept up. The more we understand how mosquitoes are living in new places, the better we'll be able to keep their numbers under control. For example, if we know that they like to lay their eggs in pothole puddles, then there's another great reason for the government to fill them in. Likewise, the quicker we can get vaccines for dengue, chikungunya and Zika on the market, the better--both for regions where the pathogens are already endemic and to prevent travelers unwittingly bringing them back for our home-grown mosquitoes to pass on. In the meantime, we should all be more vigilant about not getting bitten, both at home and away.
