Biting insects - a challenge for chemists

One million people, mainly children under five, die each year in Africa of malaria. Where the health impact is less, the economic cost of biting insects can be considerable. The largest industry in Scotland, for example, is tourism - the 13-14 million tourists every year (1996) contribute £2000 million to the country's economy. A study by Edinburgh University's Dr Alison Blackwell, however, found that the Scottish midge, Culicoides impunctatus, cost the Scottish tourist industry £286m with 86 per cent of first-time visitors saying they would advise their friends not to travel there in July or August, the height of the midge season.¹