40,000 BITES

THE hated midge is no respecter of persons. It attacks whoever it feels most attracted to, even royalty.

Queen Victoria loved summers at Balmoral Castle. However, she shared her love of the royal retreat with the monstrous midge.

She was desperate to escape their dreadful bites so she took up smoking to scare them off. The ferocious biter hates smoke of any type, experts reckon.

Otherwise known by its Sunday name, the Culicoides impunctatus can mount an army of 40,000 midges that can land on an unprotected arm in an hour.

Only the female will bite as she needs blood to feed her developing fertilised eggs.