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 Floridians don't love lovebugs
Q: I grew up in northern Florida, but moved away in the 1960s and I can't recall hearing of "love bugs" back
then. But in the 1970s or 1980s, I began hearing of them from my parents. They were a real problem... so
many would get on windshields that driving became unsafe unless you pulled over and cleaned the windshield.
I wonder why they became a problem in the 1970s and '80s but I haven't seen anything on them in the last few
years... Are they are no longer a problem? -Jack W., Washington D.C.
A: Lovebugs still launch massive flights in Florida in the spring and the fall. Populations go through natural cycles,
with smaller flights some years than others.
Above: [© U of Florida, Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences] Lovebugs stay coupled end-to-end for up to three days.
"During the past several years, both the April-May and the August-September lovebug flights have been substantially reduced in North Central Florida," says
D.E. Short, professor of entomology at the University of Florida. Predators--such as, robins, quails, and armadillos--reduced the numbers.
These pesky creatures, actually small black flies with red chests about the size of a currant, mate in May and September. They remain coupled, end-to-end, for
up to three days: hence, the name, lovebug. Immense swarms of the male insects hover over pastures and drained swampland. The females enter the swarm
and couple with males within a few minutes. The coupled pair drifts or flies to flowers, where they feed on nectar or pollen.
The sun-warmed hot smell of vehicle exhaust attracts the coupled pair and, by the thousands, they smash into windshields, obscuring the driver's view with
dead bodies. Floridians must wash the dead away within a few days or the fatty remains pit their cars' finish. The problem remains.
(Answered by April Holladay, science correspondent, November21, 2001)
Further Surfing:
U of Florida: Lovebugs in Florida
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