Insects appear unusually early due to warm weather

Numerous insect species have made an earlier-than-usual appearance this summer in Iceland, with the warm and favorable weather likely driving the early emergence.

Matthías Svavar Alfreðsson, an entomologist at the Icelandic Institute of Natural History, tells Morgunblaðið that several butterfly species have already taken flight weeks ahead of schedule. These include the flame carpet (Xanthorhoe designata), red carpet (Xanthorhoe decoloraria), and common spruce tortrix (Epinotia tedella).

In addition to butterflies, sightings of crane flies (Tipula paludosa) have also been reported — some appearing on house walls, which is especially unusual so early in the season. Typically, crane flies do not begin to fly until mid-summer.

Too early to call it a surge

Alfreðsson cautions that it's too early to say whether insect numbers are significantly higher this year overall, as the summer has only just begun. "Population fluctuations between years are normal," he explains.

Are the biting flies back?

Speculation is growing online about whether no-see-ums (Ceratopogonidae), the tiny biting midges that have plagued the public in recent summers, have already begun to bite. Alfreðsson doesn’t rule it out — although his traps haven’t yet caught any, he notes that other biting lice and fleas have already emerged and become active.

“No-see-ums usually don’t appear until mid-June,” he says, “but if the warm weather continues, we may see them swarming earlier than usual this year.”