Scottish midges move south of border

notorious highland insects reported causing havoc in devon and dorset

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IT MIGHT sound like an April Fool’s Day joke, but Scottish midges are emigrating and swarming into England.

In a miniature version of the Highland clearances, the ferocious insects are apparently now biting their way through Devon and Dorset.

Some, which might have been blown off course, are wreaking havoc in Donegal, Ireland.

Global warming, climate change or altered weather patterns may be responsible for the midge exodus.

Another theory is that the current comparative warmth and dampness south of the border may well be providing the midges with happier hunting grounds.

There are 37 types of midge, but culicoides impunctatus the Highland midge has the reputation for having the fiercest bite.

Their nuisance to campers, walkers, and anglers is so great that many outdoor holiday makers have been known to pack up and leave within an hour of being attacked.

But now, many folk who have had experience of the Scottish midge while on holiday, are now having to fend them off in their own backyards in the south.

Pamela Wheaton, 60, of Braunton, north Devon, lived in Dunfermline until recently.

Mrs Wheaton said yesterday: “We did get reasonably used to the midges while we were living in Scotland, and particularly while staying with my sister Rita in Lochaber. But we couldn't believe it when we went out on to our balcony in Braunton this week for a drink before dinner, and were attacked and constantly bitten and nipped by the tiny black insects."

Meanwhile, in Wareham in Dorset, middle-aged couple, Sue and Graham Torrance, both landscape gardeners, also met their midge match.

“We stopped work in the early evening for a cup of tea on the lawn", said Mrs Torrance yesterday. “That proved impossible as we were assailed by hundreds of midges.

“We knew what they were because we holiday in the west Highlands and in Mull every year.

“They weren't as bad as we had experienced in Scotland, but they were certainly a significant nuisance."