Mystery of missing midges

A DRAMATIC drop in the number of midges this month has left the world’s leading expert on them scratching her head as tourist operators celebrate.

Dundee-based Advanced Pest Solutions director Dr Alison Blackwell said the number of midges caught in traps across the country is well down on July catches in previous years — but she is at a l oss as t o t he explanation.

Dr Blackwell, whose company runs the online Scottish Midge Forecast, said: “We had some big catches in June — in some places, around double what we had for June last year — but t hey have reduced significantly this month.

“I don’t really know why the numbers have tailed off, but I suspect i t ’s because there has been a warm, dry spell when we would normally expect the second generation t o emerge, which has delayed the second hatch.

“But I’m still expecting them to appear – just later than usual.”