swarming beetles in Wilts/Dorset

[ronx]

A few nights ago, the trees in our garden were, at dusk, suddenly covered in possibly mating swarms of brown beetles, whose bodies seemed to be a bit longer than their wing cases. Many hundreds of them in several trees and on several different nights. Looked a bit like small may bugs? Now all gone. Any ideas? we are a grassy gap between massive mixed woodlands at foot of Cranbourne Chase. Insects abound (and tame badgers in the garden, fox cubs everywhere, roaring fallows, barking roe, stoats, weasels, swarms of many many butterflies that are way beyond me, and biting insects by the ton) but I have never seen anything like the thousands of beetles coming in to these trees!

[eucera]

I have seen dozens of dusk-flying Summer Chafers on Martin Down on a number of occasions. It is probably these.

[ronx]

Oh yes that is them. Thanks!

Can you help further as you are a local....

We also get every year for about 2 months (June/July) these huge horsefly things by the thousand. They don't actually bite but come into the house and die everywhere! Any ideas? I am told the Blandford fly does bite and is much smaller. These exactly resemble a horsefly and have large mouth pieces but are about 1.2 - 1.5cm in length. At least none of us have been bitten yet.

Ronx

[eucera]

Perhaps you could post a pic or maybe even send me a selection! If this is ok I can pm you an address

[ronx]

Just typical - since the cooler weather/rain, they have totally disappeared. This is what they did last year. Blinking millions of them then suddenly -gone!

If they reappear, I will take some photos. My husband has hoovered up all the dead ones!