Thunder flies.

[colinaj]

this evening along North Beach at Lowestoft and no doubt further afield there were swarms of Thrips of the insect order Thysanoptera commonly known as Thunderflies . Post breeding and juvenile Starlings flocked to feed on this food source which had risen up from the grassland below the wall. Small flocks of Linnets were also observed feeding on these tiny insects and if one was to sit still for a period the clothing face and hands would soon be covered.

The insects in question are about one to two millimetres long have a narrow body and usually two pairs of minute wings. They are abundantly common in grassland and wild flower meadows where the adults scrape and pierce at the stems to feed on the sap. Many thousands take to the air on still summer days hence the vernacular of Thunderflies.
Sexing the insects is made easier when vouchers are taken and observed under a microscope as the females exhibit a curved saw-like ovipositor for laying eggs in the plants. They are hard to name down to species level as there are over 3000 species to sort through.
There are one or two that can be defined though and one called Phlaeothrips annulipes has a preference for forest fire brooms made of Birch twigs!.
And Aelolothrips albicinctus likes yellow Dandelion type flowers.
Col