Although many walkers, climbers and skiers have been enjoying the challenge of the recent snow in the Highlands, it is being predicted that the early snowfall this winter could mean many times more midges this summer.
Previously it was thought that heavy frosts and prolonged cold killed off the midge larvae, leading to reduced numbers the following summer. However Dr Alison Blackwell from the Scottish Midge Forecast said that the deep snow that hit Scotland from November this year has acted as an insulating layer, keeping alive the larvae.
Dr Blackwell told the Scotsman, “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. One theory is that the snow protects them to a degree because we think it may insulate the ground from the harder frosts.”