Midges are set to return in bumper numbers this year
The Scottish Midge Forecast, providing advice on the biting beasties for hikers and others taking part in outdoor pursuits, is due to start next week.
Based on weather forecasts and catches from traps across Scotland, it highlights the midge hotspots throughout the summer.
Alison Blackwell is director of Dundee-based Advanced Pest Solutions, which runs the midge forecast, and she confirmed that it would re-launch on Monday.
She said: “We expect that midges will start to emerge in mid May, but it will depend on the weather.
“Last year, when May was wet, cold and windy, this delayed the start of the season by about two weeks.”
She added that the mild, wet winter should lead to a bumper crop of midges this year.
Ms Blackwell said: “The mild winter has maximised the overwintering survival of midge larvae, buried safely a few centimetres below the soil surface.
“All they need now is some cracking weather over the next few weeks to kick-start 2016.
“However, if we don’t get a good first emergence over the next few weeks, their numbers might be diminished.”
The forecast will be available at www.smidgeup.com
