Mrs Magpie
On a bit of break...
My thoughts are with you all. The midges are bad enough in May.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-15810360
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-15810360
(((Scottish urbs)))
- Thread starter Mrs Magpie
- Start date
geminisnake
a complex mass of conflicting ideas
Fortunately I don't tend to get bitten, my blood is rubbish 
Plus I avoid the west coast!
Plus I avoid the west coast!
I started smoking when I was eight, and midges were one of the reasons for that.
Minnie_the_Minx
someinenhhanding menbag and me ah bollox
Always said Quimmy was an ankle-biter and there's the proof
eta: Sorry, misread OP. Thought you were talking about Scottish midgets
eta: Sorry, misread OP. Thought you were talking about Scottish midgets
starfish
No dialogue. Just plot.
I think thats one of the main reasons why so many Scots smoke or smoked.
In fact it's only a relatively small proportion of Scots who live mostly in the North West that are much affected by midges.
Mrs Magpie
On a bit of break...
I had a dreadful time, midge-wise, in early summer in the Borders one year.
Jesus christ, EIGHT?!
Jesus christ, EIGHT?!
I stayed off the booze till I was twelve.
Minnie_the_Minx
someinenhhanding menbag and me ah bollox
Jesus christ, EIGHT?!
Not that uncommon ago in the 50s when Lock&Light was a nipper
equationgirl
Respect my existence or expect my resistance
No midges here in Glasgow as far as I can tell...
pogofish
Testicle Hairstyle
Yup - A lot of folk assume midges are worst in the west but apart from a few localities in Argyll, that are truly off the scale, large parts of the Borders and even over into England have immense concentrations. Partly due to the ground conditions - the more damp and sponge-like the better.
And even in the East, we have been recording them earlier and active at higher altitudes for several years now. Although our midgie work has wound down somewhat from its peak of three/four years ago.
I was brought up in one of those localities, namely Knapdale in Mid-Argyll.
toblerone3
Grrrrr
Man up.
pogofish
Testicle Hairstyle
Not just one of them, Knapdale is the very worst place of all for midge density!
That's because of the combination of bracken and forestry.
Clegs are much more painful than midges but the intensity of midge-bites is what drives you mad.
pogofish
Testicle Hairstyle
geminisnake
a complex mass of conflicting ideas
Interesting. I recognise that picture!
One of yours??
past caring
The Cathars were right
So answer me this - what do these little fuckers feed on when we're not around? I ask because I camped on Rannoch Moor a couple of years back (doing a bit of wild fishing in the hill lochs) and it was fucking midge central - but there wasn't an awaful lot for them to feed on, certainly no sheep about where we were but I got absolutely bitten to buggery every evening.
Clegs are fucking worse mind.
Clegs are fucking worse mind.
past caring
The Cathars were right
Didn't see and fucking deer about either....
pogofish
Testicle Hairstyle
Basically, the Scottish Biting Midge only feeds in order to breed, not to survive. Males don't need to blood feed (mouthparts are not able to break human skin anyway) and often don't feed at all but can feed from flowers/other vegetation. Females generally carry enough resources from hatching to see them through the first bout of egg-laying but need a blood meal to release a protein to fully mature their eggs for subsequent lays. Although we do reckon that only about 10% actually go on to subsequent lays.
Of the hundred and fifty-odd species of biting midge so far found in the UK, many are adapted to feeding in a variety of habitats and from a variety of sources, including flowers/plants, birds, many other species of insect and of course mammals. Some are also very host-specific and will only feed from a particular species - eg, there is one that will only bite dragonflys and lacewings, whilst another will only feed on mayflies Many birds also have their attendant midge species.
The Culicoides family of midges are probably the ones we most associate with midge bites and of the around 50-sub species, 30-odd are found across Scotland. C. impunctatus is the one we reckon to be the cause of around 90% of human bites, although many of its cousins are not particularly host specific and could take a fancy to people if conditions keep changing. When we did the blood studies, we found blood from cattle, deer, sheep, humans, cats, dogs, rabbits and mice. Cattle, sheep and deer were by far the predominant blood sources.
Oh and if you see a cloud of midges - these are almost always the males. They won't bite - the females who will bite will generally be at a much lower level till a likely meal comes along - from a few inches to a couple of feet off the ground - see the gathering orifice on the trap pictured above.
