“This was not the species I expected to be the next new mosquito species in Sweden,” says Anders Lindström, senior researcher at the Swedish Veterinary Institute (SVA).
The yellow fever mosquito (Aedes aegypti) was found in a trap in Malmö.
The species originally comes from Africa but has spread across large parts of the world. In September, it was discovered breeding in east London. However, SVA sees no connection between the British and Swedish discoveries.
“The yellow fever mosquito is a heat-loving species that probably has difficulty overwintering at our latitudes. This is most likely an introduction that will not become established,” says Lindström.
The species is notorious for spreading diseases such as dengue, Zika and yellow fever.
