Iceland just lost its last superpower. For centuries, this frozen island held bragging rights nobody else on Earth could touch. No mosquitoes. Not one. That streak just ended. In October 2025, an insect enthusiast named Björn Hjaltason was out at dusk in Kjós, a glacial valley about 32 km north of Reykjavík. He'd set up a red wine ribbon, basically a sweet-soaked trap, when something strange landed on it. He knew instantly. This wasn't a fly. He bagged it. Then caught two more. Two females and one male. The Natural Science Institute of Iceland confirmed the unthinkable. They were Culiseta annulata, a cold-hardy mosquito species that survives brutal winters by hiding out in basements and outbuildings. Iceland was officially mosquito country. The kicker? Scientists say these bugs probably hitched a ride in on freight. And they look more than capable of surviving an Icelandic winter. That leaves Antarctica as the only place on Earth still mosquito-free. This species doesn't carry diseases like malaria or dengue. But researchers are sounding the alarm anyway. The Arctic is warming four times faster than the rest of the planet, and entomologists warn that warmer conditions could roll out the welcome mat for nastier species next. A summer earlier this year sent Icelandic temperatures soaring more than 18°F above normal, a heat spike made 40 times more likely by climate change. The last untouched corner of the human world just got a new neighbor. And it bites. Source: NPR, CNN, Yale E360