205 lines
5.0 KiB
Plaintext
Executable File
205 lines
5.0 KiB
Plaintext
Executable File
earth
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earthnews
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3341932
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-----
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# Midges cast hungry eyes on England
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By Jasper Copping 12:01AM BST 11 May 2008
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[Comments][1]
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They have long been the scourge of the Scottish Highlands but now the midge is
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spreading to the rest of Britain, experts have warned.
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Mild winters and warm but wet summers have provided ideal breeding conditions
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for the culicoides type of midge that bites people.
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Now, the British Pest Control Association (BPCA) is launching a project to
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establish the scale of the problem and ways to tackle it, in response to the
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rising number of complaints about the insect.
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Oliver Madge, chief executive, said: "We're seeing an increase in problems
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with midges.
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"We don't seem to have cold winters any more which used to kill them off. At
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the same time, we have seen some pretty wet weather.
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"People are also taking over more flood plains for housing, meaning they are
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living near wetlands, where midges breed.
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"We've also got more people keeping water butts and not cleaning gutters, both
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providing perfect breeding grounds."
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The BPCA will create a database of call-outs for midge complaints, to allow
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better monitoring of the problem.
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Mr Madge added: "Midges haven't been a problem in most of England because the
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conditions weren't favourable for them.
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"But pests are changing as a result of how the environment is changing and we
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need to understand that. We need to know numbers, locations and type."
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Scientists are also expecting increases in midge numbers across Britain. Dr
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Alison Blackwell, a midge expert at Edinburgh University, said: "It has been a
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mild winter so we may well see a large midge emergence everywhere."
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Doctors in the South-East are reporting increased numbers of people suffering
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from midge bites, while NHS Direct has had almost 1,000 calls for insect bites
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and stings since March.
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Prof David Cavanagh, of the Institute for Animal Health, said: "The midge
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numbers have started to increase, in the South East and elsewhere. These are
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the culicoides, who are the biting type.
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"As it warms up, the numbers will increase through May and June."
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* Share: [Share][2] [ ][4] [ ][5]
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http://www.telegraph.co.uk/earth/earthnews/3341932/Midges-cast-hungry-eyes-on-
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England.html
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Telegraph
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## [Earth News][7]
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* ### [Earth »][8]
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In earth
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[![Animal pictures of the week: 27 May 2011][9] ][10]
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### [Animal photos of the week][10]
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[![Rock climbing with tents: climbers hang off the sides of vertical cliffs
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sleeping in tents][11] ][12]
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### [A tent with a view][12]
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[![][13] ][14]
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[![Iceland volcano ash cloud and travel disruption in pictures][15] ][16]
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### [Volcano travel disruption][16]
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[![The Milky Way stretches across the night sky behind a rock arch in Arches
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National Park, Utah. Bret Webster uses the night skies of the national parks
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of his home state of Utah as his canvas to create images that highlight the
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relative insignificance of the Earth in the cosmos.][17] ][18]
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### [The Milky Way over the desert][18]
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[X][2] Share & bookmark
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[What are these?][3]
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Share:
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* [ ][2]
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* [ ][4]
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* [ ][5]
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* [Tweet][6]
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* Advertisement
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![][19]
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telegraphuk
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Please enable JavaScript to view the [comments powered by Disqus.][20] [blog
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comments powered by Disqus][21]
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[![Gil Scott-Heron][37]][36]
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