A bizarre swarm of bugs appearing to spew from a tree has left locals and an expert baffled.
Wendy Peacock captured eerie footage of the phenomenon while out on a dog walk.
She said they appeared to be “bigger than ants but smaller than bees” and came out of nowhere.
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“I was out walking my two small dogs and at first I thought it was some sort of smoke in the distance,” she told What’s The Jam.
“As I got nearer, I could see nothing was going upwards – it was spewing out from the trees.
“My car was parked beneath it.
“We made a dash for the car, which was covered in ant-like flying insects – but too big to be ants.
“They were more falling than actually landing on us, and the dogs didn’t like it at all.
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“We got into the car as soon as possible and drove away.
“As we drove up the lane, a family with children was also leaving the area.
“With the benefit of hindsight, I wish I’d been braver and videoed more.
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“But a couple of days later, I took my husband and the dogs on the same walk and further along the track, lo and behold, another eruption began.
“We couldn’t get close enough to catch one of the bugs as the tree was adjacent to the railway line and farm field.
“But they were all black and bigger than ants, but smaller than bees.”
Wendy saw the display in Church Lane, New Romney, Kent, last Thursday (17 Apr).
Nature enthusiast Nik Mitchell said: “It’s an amazing sight.
“And I love the fact that I don’t know what it is.
“They could be St Mark’s flies.
“But I’ve never seen them gather in numbers like that.
“But it could also be midges – swarms of non-biting insects.
“Whatever they are, it’s good to see them there in such large numbers because they underpin the whole natural world.“
