A new research has revealed that women are more likely to make a fuss about midge bites than men because they are "more aware of their skin."
The study found that human attractiveness to the bloodsucking insects is hereditary, and that women have a stronger reaction to the bites than men.
Scientists from Aberdeen University and the Rothamsted Research Institute in Hertfordshire conducted a survey of more than 300 athletes and spectators at a race around the shores of Loch Ness, which is notorious for clouds of midges.
They found that some people consistently got bitten more than others, while 14% of people never got bitten at all.
Scientists believe that some people are born producing skin chemicals that repel the insects.
"Midges find us through the volatiles coming off our skin and also our breath - our carbon dioxide," the Telegraph quoted professor Jenny Mordue, who led the study, assaying.
"We found women's reaction to the bites was worse than men's, but that may be because women are more aware of their skin than men," added Mordue
The study will be published in the British Medical Council's Public Health Journal next year.
