News

Those who regularly strap on their walking boots for a trip to Scotland will be well-used to hearing the line "watch out for the midges".

But even the most experienced of hikers could be in for a bit of a surprise – according to one expert, this year's midge invasion is set to be 800 times worse.

Talking to the Scotsman, Dr Alison Blackwell, who runs the Scottish midge forecast website, explained that numbers of the insects could be significantly worse this year because of heavy snowfall over winter.

Far from being killed off by ground frost, it is thought that the snow has in fact insulated and protected midge larvae.

"We thought that a hard ground frost would kill the midge larvae off as they hibernate because we know that they die if you put them in a freezer," Dr Blackwell told the newspaper.

But this idea could well be wrong.

"One theory is that the snow protects them to a degree because we think it may insulate the ground from the harder frosts," she added.

If the theory proves correct, and if Scotland enjoys a wet spring, midge traps that are set down in different locations – to track midge numbers – could collect 16 million midges in just one location. A normal figure would be about 20,000.

"People will have to be prepared to be bombarded," Dr Andy Evans, of the Scottish Agricultural College, told the Scotsman.

Midge bites can cause itching and swelling, but are mostly harmless.