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Have you seen mosquitoes in Scotland?

Please let us know!

Mosquito Scotland

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Mosquito Scotland is a collaborative One Health project aiming to assess the risk of mosquito-borne diseases in Scotland

You've heard about Scottish midges. But have you heard about Scottish mosquitoes

If not - you're not alone! Mosquitoes in Scotland have historically been neglected as a subject of research. This is largely because the cool Scottish climate is thought to limit mosquito abundance and the risk of mosquito-borne disease.

But...

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1. We have lots of mosquitoes in Scotland! Although they do not pose a risk to public health at the moment, the risk may increase with climate change and other human-associated factors, such as changes in land use.
 

2. Mosquitoes are already able to transmit diseases to wildlife in Scotland, making them a threat to conservation efforts. Birds are particularly vulnerable to mosquito-borne diseases.

The Mosquito Scotland project aims to address the gaps in our knowledge of Scottish mosquitoes by establishing a surveillance programme of mosquitoes and birds across Scotland. Through this, we can find out which mosquito species are present in Scotland, how they are distributed, and whether they are harbouring any diseases.

Our research

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Mosquito ecology

Pathogen screening of mosquitoes & birds

Vector competence testing of  mosquitoes

Environmental and epidemiological modelling

Funding

This project is funded by a three-year UKRI-DEFRA grant until March 2026.

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