Mosquitoes are spreading across the UK with a total of 21 different species found in Scotland. University researchers have warned that some areas are swarming with mosquitoes that are actively trying to bite people.

The ongoing Mosquito Scotland project has received over 700 potential sightings and photos of the biting insect over the last year. Over half of these have been confirmed as mosquitoes with 21 different species now living in Scotland. Some have been identified in Shetland - the most northern location to date.

As reported by the BBC, most of the mosquitoes were spotted in woodland areas. While sightings were at their peak during the summer, reports were sent in every month of the last year.

The mosquitoes are often found in pine forests in the east of Scotland, as well as in the big cities. In Glasgow, larvae was found floating in stagnant water such as plant pots and ponds.

Heather Ferguson, professor of medical entomology at the University of Glasgow, said: "We found them to a much greater extent than we've known before. In almost all parts of the country we got reports of different species. And a very exciting first for us, we found the most northernmost record for the UK when we had a member of the public in Shetland report a mosquito which we were able to confirm."

The Mosquito Scotland team also set up traps at 24 locations across the country, based on the locations of the public reports. These traps, which can catch over 1,000 of the insects in just two days, lured the mosquitoes by the smell of carbon dioxide, which mimics human breath.

Dr Georgia Kirby, who leads the project, said: "There were several areas of Scotland where we received lots of reports of bites but very few photos of the culprits – understandably, as most people don't want to hold still for a photo while they're being bitten by insects.

"We had suspected that midges or clegs could be responsible, but in our follow-up investigations we invariably found that these locations were swarming with mosquitoes – proving that people in Scotland are good at recognising them and distinguishing them from more familiar insects.

"Most of these sites were areas of dense woodland, which is a key habitat for several aggressive human-biting mosquito species."

Mosquitoes don't currently pose a health risk to humans in Scotland. The parasite needed to spread diseases like malaria is not present in the UK.