Scourge of the midges during an Irish summer

An unseen enemy lies in wait for people making the most of fine weather and long evenings at this time of year. Many people may not have heard of Culicoides impunctatus, but everybody is familiar with a tiny creature called a midge, its name in plain language.

The scourge of the Irish summer can ruin a morning, or evening, in the outdoors and it hunts in packs in areas close to water and on the hills. Our damp, humid conditions provide an ideal breeding ground for the midge, as we’ve experienced already this summer.

Tourists frequently complain about it and they have no advance warning of what awaits them. When they’re bitten, some visitors reckon it’s a mosquito attack but, we’re assured, mosquitos and midges are scarcely 31st cousins and there’s no known disease transmission from midges, according to the Wicklow National Park authorities.