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If the warm weather makes you want to get outside, be forewarned: It's Midge Season.

Insect swarms plague many Canadians right now. Here's why


Katie Jones
Digital Reporter

Sunday, May 3, 2015, 6:49 PM - If the warm weather makes you want to get outside, be forewarned: It's 'Midge Season.'

Chances are you've already spotted the pulsating swarms when heading out to enjoy the pleasant temperatures during the afternoon and evening hours.

You may have even inadvertently swallowed a mouthful of the tiny flies while riding your bike or taking a lakefront stroll.

Midge rainbow. Courtesy of Mark Leonard. Cobourg, Ontario.

Midges, or gnats, are tiny flies that accompany the arrival of warm temperatures every spring.

These fragile insects are less than 1 millmetre long and nearly invisible when alone or from afar. But when they get together by the millions to create a mating swarm -- watch out!


 ALSO SEE: Rain, warm weather cause millions of ladybugs to descend on Romania town


The insects feed on plants and hatch in water, before the sunlight draws them out. This is why you'll typically encounter larger clouds of the tiny pests closer to lakes and other bodies of water. 

So for now, parts of Canada enjoying double digit temperatures will likely be forced to clean the pesky critters from windshields, screen doors -- even nostrils -- for at least another few weeks.

CHECK OUT: Find out important information in this interview with a gnat


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