Cycling UK Forum

They breed in the wet boggy conditions and appear June onwards peaking by late summer. It's only the females that bite, the males feed from flowers if at all. There are midges in the lowlands of Scotland, Lake District and Wales but are generally less voracrious. I cycled Lon Las Cymru in May and there were midges about - but nothing like their Scottish counterparts.
The midges of course are a vital part of the ecosystem and themselves an important food source for many animals, birds and even insect-eating plants!

robing wrote:The midges of course are a vital part of the ecosystem and themselves an important food source for many animals, birds and even insect-eating plants!

I think I ate more midges than peanut butter sandwiches doing LEJOG, and that's saying something.

I had my first encounter with the midge after riding the Fred Whitton sportive in the lake district, a few years ago, I sat by a lake afterwards, with some food, and time to relax, and along came this huge swarm.I thought if I waved my arms enough they would be discouraged but they seemed to enjoy the game, luckily for me, no bites.

althebike wrote:I had my first encounter with the midge after riding the Fred Whitton sportive in the lake district, a few years ago, I sat by a lake afterwards, with some food, and time to relax, and along came this huge swarm.I thought if I waved my arms enough they would be discouraged but they seemed to enjoy the game, luckily for me, no bites.

Lake District - May - Nah they weren’t real midges just mere imposters.

I am lying on my bed in a hotel at JOG counting my judge bites..lots!

puffin wrote::? I am lying on my bed in a hotel at JOG counting my judge bites..lots!

Ahhhhh. Can't stand them, I seem to react to them far more than others. Where were they at there worst?

Some years ago in Scotland, I was bitten by midges. It seemed to me then that the worst thing about them was that they got into clothes and things. The bites themselves were a bit irritating when they happened and a bit itchy for awhile afterwards, but that was it. They didn't seem like such a big deal to me, then.

A few nights ago, I was out mowing the lawn, and it started to rain. I thought I would finish, and of course I got all sweaty. Then I did some planting before I went in. I thought I'd had gnats buzzy around me or something. Though I never saw anything, really. I felt them a few times.

The next day, though, I broke out in welts all over my body. I counted more than 40, and they itched like the very devil. I've never experienced anything like it. They obviously bother me, now

There are some small black biting flies active now in southern England. I believe they're called Blandford Flies.

I have checked out midge veils and could not find any so I thought about going for this

The only midges I encountered were around the Bridge of Brown there were a couple of hills there I could only take slowly and I found myself in a swarm, but luckily they were vegetarian