Mating Midges

Once the fog had cleared we had a beautifully warm and sunny day. Midges were dancing and I photographed this tiny pair mating on my car. Being yellow it's very attractive to insects. When we were in business we used to hang yellow sticky traps in the glasshouses to monitor any insect pests.

People get concerned when they see these midges swarming, thinking that they are mosquitoes. These are non-biting midges, they can't bite as they don't have a proboscis. The male on the left has large fluffy antennae which he uses for sensing the high-pitched sound of the female's wings.