THE WINTER months have arrived, but for country ramblers and hillwalkers who have been anticipating enjoyable hours on the hills and moors without meeting the scourge of the Scottish midge, climate change cannot be denied. With t-shirt weather having been experienced on several days in November and December 2016, clouds of these persistent little insects were found to be almost as active in some areas as we might expect on a fine evening in May, satisfying their hunger on the blood of humans and animals alike.