ANNA MARIA ISLAND – Twice a year the area is invaded by a tiny flying pest known as plecia nearctica, better known to Floridians as the lovebug, and once again, they are back.
Car washes love them, but most everyone else finds them to be a nuisance.
Often called the double-headed bug or honeymoon fly, lovebugs don’t actually have two heads, although at first glance it certainly appears so. During mating season, lovebugs can remain attached to each other for many days after mating, causing observers to see them as one creature. Lovebugs are harmless, don’t bite or sting, and are not a health risk to humans. Their sizable numbers do cause real problems during mating season, which occurs from late April into May, then again in late August into September.
There has been an urban legend since the 1950s that an experiment at the University of Florida went wrong and produced the annoying lovebugs. The legend says they managed to escape a UF laboratory resulting in the havoc they wreak on cars and Floridians. While this story is interesting, it has no basis in truth, according to Thomas Fasulo, an extension entomologist with UF’s Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences.
“I started hearing this story in 1979, my first year as an entomologist in Florida, but other entomologists told me they heard the same story long before that,” Fasulo said. “How it got started we just don’t know.”
The plecia nearctica is actually a fly believed to have migrated through the Gulf coast from Texas through southern states and eventually to Florida. While they annoy just about everyone in their path, the good news is that they only mate twice a year and don’t cause many issues in the remaining months.
Lovebugs’ acidity drops to around 4.5pH, making them very acidic. This means that if left on a car’s surface, they can cause paint damage and also be difficult to remove after only a few hours. Lovebugs can also clog filters and intake systems on cars, so it’s best to wash them off as soon as possible.
Some seasons are worse than others and some areas see higher concentrations than others. There is little that can be done to predict exactly when and where lovebugs will appear in the highest concentrations. Since they only live a few days after breeding, the only certainty is that they will be gone by summer.
