Lovebugs

Weird. Nuisance to the point of being dangerous. But also environmentally beneficial. Of all the creatures on God’s good earth, lovebugs, aka Plecio nearctic, are among the strangest.

For one, we only notice lovebugs when their mating, which takes place in large measure in mid-air and seemingly lasts forever. For another, they’re attracted to the heat, exhaust and vibration of moving automobiles, splattering on windshields, hoods and grilles. So much so that they can limit a driver’s sight, damage paint and even overheat cars.

Despite the name, lovebugs aren’t true bugs, nor are they Volkswagens (sorry. we couldn’t resist the movie reference). Rather, they’re flies, members of the order Diptera. They’re maybe a half-inch long, narrow, mostly dull black with a prominent red spot on top of the thorax, the section of the body behind the head. Females are bigger than males, in large measure because of their ovaries; males have larger eyes, necessary to spot the ladies of the species amid the swarm.

As we noted above, lovebugs are environmentally beneficial. For one, they make a nice snack for birds, robins and quails in particular, and a host of insect predators. Armadillos are known to feed on their larvae. For another, their larvae eat decaying vegetative matter, essentially recycling it back into the ground.

Lovebugs don’t sting or bite. They feed on nectar produced by flowers and tend to congregate in open areas, including highways. They’re active during daylight hours, particularly after 10 a.m. and when temperatures are above 68 degrees.

The mating process begins with males swarming, usually between one and five feet above the ground, though sometimes much higher; as females fly into swarm, males dart out attempting to grasp onto one of them. If he’s successful, the two will fall to the ground and couple. The male then turns his body 180 degrees so the two lovers are end to end. The competition to mate is fierce, and males will try to force coupled males off their partners. As many as 10 males have been seen on a single female.

Mating can last as long as 12.5 hours for females to get the maximum amount of sperm her partner has to offer. Fertilized females will drop to the ground and lay between 100 and 350 eggs under decaying leaves.

Most females mate once. Those that do typically will die within 68 hours of laying eggs. Females that mate a second time will live a little longer, perhaps as long as 85 hours.



There are two major generations of lovebugs a year in Florida, one in May-June, the other in August-September, triggered by rains. Each generation lasts about four weeks, although the lifespan of individuals once they transform into adults is only a few days. There are reports that minor emergences can occur in South Florida during other parts of the year. Note that the photographs on this page were taken in February.

There are stories dating back at least to the 1970s that lovebugs somehow are the creation of the University of Florida, the result of a genetic experiment that went off the rails, or that UF imported them as a means of reducing the mosquito population and they escaped or were released into the wild. Neither is true, as one might expect. UF did do experiments with the critters in conjunction with the U.S. Department of Agriculture, but only after the popultion was well established here.

The actual story is rather ordinary. No mad scientists. No mad plots. No experiments gone wrong.

Lovebugs are native to Central America and South America. They made their way north and were discovered in Texas in 1940, then migrated naturally along the Gulf Coast states to Florida, first found in Escambia County, in 1949. Love bugs are also found in Georgia and South Carolina. They’ve been found as far north as Wilmington, N.C.

We’ve read some accounts that say they’re native to the U.S. Not likely if they were only discovered in 1940. The definition of a native is any plant or animal that was here at the time the first Europeans arrived on the continent. It can be said, however, that their presence here is naturally occurring.

Lovebugs, also spelled love bugs, are members of Bibionidae, the March fly family.

Hobe Sound National Wildlife Refuge — Mainland Unit