Unidentified

A large mass of these insects was originally sighted in a long drawn out line, moving down a tree. They initially looked like foraging ants but on closer inspection appeared to be Plant Lice. They were behaving a bit like a cycle peloton in that the insects to the rear kept moving to the front and taking over the lead. The mass eventually split up into several different streams before reaching the base of the tree. The individual streams would come to a rest every now and again and the insects generally group into a tight circle with their heads down, tails up, typically facing inwards, as can be seen in some of the images of following sightings. After a short time the individual groups would set off again in drawn out streams. When they reached the base of the tree the individual groups stopped, rested, and then started back up the tree until they were too high to photograph. Unsure what this behaviour was as I haven't seen it before.