3 guides
Why Eating Midges Doesn't Stop Them Eating You: The Predator Paradox
Highland biting midges aren't a major food source for birds or other insectivorous animals, and while pipistrelle bats do eat insects in the midge family, they make up only a small part of their diet. The larvae thrive in wet, acidic bog and poorly drained grassland, which rather explains why they're still here in such numbers.
How Horseflies Find You: The Science Behind the Bite
Only the females bite, needing blood protein for egg development, and they deploy serrated mandibles to get it. There's evidence they locate their hosts partly by detecting exhaled carbon dioxide, which is mildly unsettling.
Ticks and Lyme Disease
Ticks are tiny, their bites are often painless and most do not carry the bacteria that cause Lyme disease—but the minority that do can transmit it, potentially causing long-term health problems if untreated. Knowing where ticks live, how to check after walking and what a possible Lyme rash may look like matters more than panic or avoidance.