"It is a little known fact that malaria is rife in the Scottish countryside - but not the type that infects people. A range of malaria parasites that infect birds are commonly found in Scottish bird populations. These parasites can be transmitted by biting midges, thus it no surprise that transmission is very high over the summer months in Scotland. Researchers at University of Glasgow are using the bird malaria system to investigate how climate change may be affecting our ecosystems, potentially be extending the period of over which biting insects are active. Here, Stuart Wilson from the IBAHCM is pictured inspecting the collecting of midges and insects from one of the many traps run over the summer at the University's field station on Loch Lomond".