This country was one of the few mosquito-free nations. That just changed

A Culiseta annulata mosquito is seen on a control monitor connected to a microscope in the laboratory for mosquito monitoring at the Friedrich-Loeffler-Institut (FLI) on the island of Riems, Germany. This species has been discovered in Iceland. Jens Büttner/picture alliance/Getty Images

Iceland’s frozen, inhospitable winters have long protected it from mosquitoes , but that may be changing. This week, scientists announced the discovery of three mosquitoes — marking the country’s first confirmed finding of these insects in the wild.

Mosquitoes are found almost everywhere in the world, with the exception of Antarctica and, until very recently, Iceland, due to their extreme cold.

The mosquitoes were discovered by Björn Hjaltason in Kiðafell, Kjós, in western Iceland about 20 miles nort