328:, often resulted in pits and etches in automotive paint and chrome if not quickly removed. However, advances in automotive paints and protective coatings have reduced this threat significantly. Now the greatest concern is excessive clogging of vehicle radiator air passages by the bodies of the adults, with a reduction of the cooling effect on engines, and the obstruction of windshields when the remains of the adults and egg masses are smeared on the glass.
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as decaying plants on the soil and other organic material, and live and remain in the soil until they develop to the pupa stage. During the warmer months the lovebug larvae remain in the larvae phase for approximately 120 days and approximately 240 days during the cooler months. Lovebugs typically stay in the pupa stage about 7–9 days before reaching the adult phase, in which they can start reproducing.
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Male/female pairs (joined tail-to-tail) will hover in the air, drifting slowly. Two major flights occur each year; the spring flight occurs during late April and May, and the summer flight occurs during late August and
September. Flights extend over periods of four to five weeks. In south Florida, a
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Female lovebugs can lay as many as 350 eggs and regularly lay these eggs around decaying material on the top layer of ground soil. Lovebug eggs generally hatch after 2–4 days, depending on flight season. Once the eggs have hatched, the larvae start feeding on the decaying material around them, such
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are usually not far behind. While it often took decades, lovebug flights are no longer present in the huge numbers that once existed simply because their natural controls (mostly fungi) caught up with established populations. In many areas, local lovebug flights may only be present in excessively
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Lovebug adults are attracted to light-colored surfaces, especially if they are freshly painted, but adults congregate almost anywhere, apparently reacting to the effects of sunlight on automobile fumes, asphalt, and other products affected by environmental factors still not completely understood.
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to begin reproducing. Adult male lovebugs emerge first from the pupal stage and hover around until female lovebugs emerge. Mating between lovebugs takes place immediately after emergence of the adult females. A male lovebug copulates and will remain paired up until the female has been fully
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fertilized. Copulation takes place for 2–3 days before the female detaches, lays her eggs, and dies. Adult females have been recorded to live up to seven days, while adult males may live up to two to five days, but on average lovebugs live three to four days. However,
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form of this insect is seldom seen, as it lives and feeds in the thatch of grasses for most of the year. While various fungi are suspected of being natural controls for this species, biological control of these non-pest flies is not a priority for funding.
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third (but smaller) flight can occur in
December. Mating takes place almost immediately after emergence of the females. Adult females live only three to four days, while males live a little longer. They have to stick to each other at all times.
379:, first to Texas, then Louisiana, then further eastward, the initial populations for many years were so excessive that they caused public concern and initiated rumors of their origin. However, as pest populations migrate naturally, their
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Lovebugs are subject to some significant natural controls, such as various parasitic fungi, and dry weather, which dries out the thatch, resulting in a higher mortality rate for the immature. As the lovebug migrated around the
260:, writing in 1970, found the bug was also widespread in central and northern Florida and described its flights as reaching altitudes of 300 to 450 metres (980 to 1,480 ft) and extending several kilometers over the Gulf.
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windshields, hoods, and radiator grilles when vehicles travel at highway speeds. If left for more than an hour or two, the remains become extremely difficult to remove. Their body chemistry has a nearly neutral 6.5
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body chemistry. There are no health risks to humans, as disease cannot be transmitted through them. Because airborne lovebugs can exist in enormous numbers near highways, they die in large numbers on
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Research by L.L. Buschman showed that migration explained the introduction of the lovebug into
Florida and other southeastern states, contrary to the urban myth that the
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feed on partially decayed vegetation in the landscape and, in this respect, are beneficial to humans. Adults primarily feed on nectar from various plants, particularly
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Denmark, H. A., and F. W. Mead. "Lovebug - Plecia
Nearctica Hardy." Lovebug – Plecia Nearctica Hardy. DPI Entomology Circular 350, 15 Aug. 1998. Web. 24 July 2014.
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Thornhill, Randy. "Dispersal of Plecia
Nearctica (Diptera: Bibionidae)." The Florida Entomologist 57.1 (1980): 45. ProQuest. Web. 24 July 2014.
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Wenston, J., D. E. Short, and M. Pfiester. "Lovebugs in
Florida1." EDIS New Publications RSS. University of Florida, 2013. Web. 25 July 2014.
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Leppla, Norman C. "Living With
Lovebugs." EDIS New Publications RSS. University of Florida/IFAS Extension, 15 Jan. 2007. Web. 24 July 2014
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Cherry, R., and Raid, R. 2000. Seasonal flight of Plecia nearctica (Diptera: Bibionidae) in southern
Florida. Florida Entomol. 83: 94–96.
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but may become acidic at 4.25 pH if left on the car for a day. In the past, the acidity of the dead adult body, especially the female's
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Thornhill, R. 1976c. Reproductive behavior of the lovebug, Plecia nearctica (Diptera: Bibionidae). Ann. Entomol. Soc. Amer. 69:843-847
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Hieber, C., J. Cohen. 1983. Sexual
Selection in the Lovebug, *Plecia nearctica*: The role of male choice. Evolution, 37(5): 987-992.
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This species' reputation as a public nuisance is due not to any bite or sting (it is incapable of either), but to its slightly
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Hetrick LA. 1970a. Biology of the "love-bug," Plecia nearctica (Diptera: Bibionidae). Florida
Entomologist 53: 23-26.
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as early as 1911. At the time, Hardy reported the distribution of lovebugs to be widespread, but more common in
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large numbers due to occasional local conditions that may not be repeated in successive years.
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found in parts of Central America and the southeastern United States, especially along the
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due to their acidic taste, lovebug larvae—and some adults—are food for birds such as
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Much speculation about the lovebug still thrives. This is partly because the
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Hardy, D. Elmo (1940). "Studies in New World Plecia (Bibionidae: Diptera)".
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was created from a revision of this article dated 28 June 2019
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Weston, J.; Short, Donald E.; Pfiester, M. (8 February 2022) .
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Urban legend holds that lovebugs are synthetic—the result of a
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Denmark, Harold; Mead, Frank; Fasulo, Thomas (April 2010).
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predators include spiders, some predatory insects such as
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614:"Biology of the 'love-bug', (Diptera: Bibionidae)"
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