Highland midge: Where It Lives, Map & Facts

Where the highland midge lives – recorded in 10 countries, with quick facts from Wikidata and an introduction from Wikipedia.

Scientific name	Culicoides impunctatus
Group	Grasshoppers, bugs & other insects
Found in	10 countries
Continents	Europe
Class	Insect
Order	Diptera
Family	Ceratopogonidae

Where does the highland midge live?

Open-licence (CC0 / CC BY) wild records published on GBIF place the highland midge in 10 countries and territories across Europe.

Countries with at least a handful of records (a minimum share of the species’ records, to leave out vagrants and escapes). Records with coordinates only; captive and fossil records excluded.

What kind of animal is the highland midge?

The highland midge (Culicoides impunctatus) is an insect in the order Diptera and the family Ceratopogonidae, genus Culicoides. (Taxonomy from Wikidata.)

About the highland midge

The highland midge (scientific name: Culicoides impunctatus; Scots: Midgie; Scottish Gaelic: Meanbh-chuileag) is a species of biting midge found across the Palearctic (throughout Britain, Ireland, Scandinavia, other regions of Northern Europe, Russia and Northern China) in upland and lowland areas (fens, bogs and marshes). In the north west of Scotland, and down the Western coast to north Wales, the highland midge is usually very prevalent from late spring to late summer. Female highland midges are well known for gathering in clouds and biting humans, though the majority of the blood they obtain comes from cattle, sheep and deer. The bite of Culicoides may be felt as a sharp prick but is usually unnoticed at the time. It is often followed by irritating lumps that may disappear in a few hours or last for days, depending on the individual.

Text in “About” is quoted from the Wikipedia article Highland midge (revision 1372979649), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Changes: lead section excerpted verbatim, formatting removed. Quick facts, taxonomy and status: Wikidata Q1649781 (CC0). Countries and pin: GBIF.org occurrence records (CC0 / CC BY 4.0).