Midges on rise in Sutherland
The North West of Scotland proved midge mecca - or hell - this summer, the official end of season report on the biting beastie has revealed.
But while Wester Ross and Sutherland were having to deal with a major rise in midges - another part of the Highlands was dealing with less.
The Scottish Midge Forecast has shown that the North West region recorded a staggering 21 percent rise in midges.
But there was a 6 percent fall in the insect's numbers around the other main recording area of Argyll.
Midge expert Dr Alison Blackwell, whose company runs the Scottish Midge Forecast, said the difference could be simply explained by localised weather patterns. Midges prefer warm and damp and low wind conditions.
Overall more midges were about this year than 2015 - though falling short of record numbers.
The 2016 season started off with major emergences across Scotland’s midge territory, equalling those seen in the record midge season of 2014," said Dr Blackwell's report.
"Catches of 80,000 midges per night were seen at the end of May in Argyll, followed by similar numbers in the North West of Scotland just a few days later.
"The first generation of midges peaked at the end of June in Argyll, with catches in the Midge Forecast trap of 180,000 midges per night.
"From early July the numbers of midges in Argyll dropped off rapidly and only a small second generation was recorded, with peak catches of around 20,000 midges per night in early August.
"By comparison, midges in the North West had a more obvious second generation, with catches in the region of 30,000-a-night during the first two weeks of August.
"Compared with 2015, which saw a three to four week delay in the midges getting going due to a very unseasonal Spring but then saw a resurgence later in the season, the opposite pattern was seen in 2016.
"Overall, 21% more midges were caught in the North West of Scotland during 2016 compared with 2015, whereas catches in Argyll were marginally (6%) down in 2016 compared with the same year.
"The difference between the two areas can be explained by localised weather conditions.
"Overall this year did not reach the record numbers of 2014 - catches were about 30 percent down compared to that year.
"But numbers were well up on last year, which were particularly low.
"Midges catches at the end of September are very low and reports of any significant activity rare."
Dundee-based Advanced Pest Solutions director Dr Blackwell also said there is no real chance this autumn of a significant unusual third hatch of midges.
The phenomena happened last year for the first time in years.
The larvae of Culicoides impunctatus – the scientific name for the Highland biting midge – overwinter in the soil and begin to emerge as adults in May and June the following year. These adults then lay eggs that develop relatively quickly to give a second emergence of adult midges in July.
A third hatch can occur in September if the second half of the summer is particularly warm.
The midge forecast provides advice for hikers and others taking part in outdoor pursuits based on the weather forecast and catches from traps across Scotland.
The Scottish tourism industry is estimated to lose about £286 million-a -year because of the voracious and swarming insects.
A previous study also found that many tourists said they would not return to Scotland at the same time of year because of the biting beastie.
Two million midges weigh just a kilo - and one square metre of land will contain about 500,000 of the insects. Only the female bites. She needs a blood meal to fully develop her eggs.
Dr Blackwell said:"They are pretty adaptable in surviving all kinds of conditions as we have seen. They know how to survive. They've done it for thousands of years."
