SINGAPORE - More midges are appearing at Bedok Reservoir because of the recent hot and wet weather, said PUB, the national water agency.

In a response to queries on Friday (June 10), a spokesman said that PUB had been closely monitoring the situation and had stepped up on measures to control the midge population since May this year.

It had recently started fogging the reservoir every morning and five times a week in the afternoons. A larvicide is also applied in the reservoir four times a week, added the spokesman, noting that shrubs, tree canopy and bright spotlights had been planted and installed to deter midges from flying into residential estates.

The PUB spokesman assured residents and park users that midges, which are part of the aquatic ecosystem, "do not bite, carry or spread diseases as they do not have proboscis" but increased numbers of the small, flying insects "can pose as a nuisance".

Meanwhile, the National University of Singapore is studying more effective long term intervention measures.

Researchers have identified the species at Bedok Reservoir as Tantytarsus oscillans which inhabits the deep water in the centre of Bedok Reservoir.

Larvicide has been applied there as well as along the banks, said the spokesman.