Anyone who’s lived in Florida over the past few decades has likely had a run-in with these nuisances.
Lovebugs are known for flying through the air while getting “stuck” together during their explosive breeding seasons, causing plenty of splatters on the front of people’s cars.
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But in recent years, Florida natives have noticed a stark drop in the number of these pests flitting about.
According to Dr. Norman Leppla — a professor at the University of Florida specializing in pest management — it could be that lovebugs are starting to disappear from the state altogether.
“I really don’t know why, but we’re having a crisis globally with the loss of insect species and all kinds of other organisms just plain disappearing. And we’re quite worried about it,” he said.
While crop pests are unfortunately not on a downward trend, Leppla explains that many other species are, including certain types of butterflies, beetles, and fireflies.
Researchers haven’t yet pinpointed an exact cause behind these changes, though Leppla theorized it could be the result of things like climate change, urbanization, chemicals in the environment, or simply movements of people and goods.
Typically, lovebug season pops up twice per year: in April to May, and August to September.
Leppla spoke with News 6 about the issue last year, but since then, he hasn’t seen much of a difference.
“Last year, I went to areas where I collected over the last three decades and didn’t see a single one in the spring,” he said. “This year, I’ve been a little more diligent and looked harder, and I’ve seen a few, but this is nothing like we’ve seen in the past with massive numbers.”
In fact, Leppla said that lovebugs seem to have already disappeared from urban areas in North-Central Florida.
“I have seen them on farms and in pastures, areas where they really have perfect conditions for larvae. But that isn’t the general pattern. The general pattern is — this is three or four years now — they’ve not been very abundant,” he said.
However, lovebugs aren’t originally from Florida.
They actually hail from the Yucatán in Mexico, having traveled into the Gulf Coast through Texas during the early-to-mid 1900s. In Florida, they weren’t seen until around 1950.
That means that even if lovebugs disappear from Florida, it doesn’t necessarily mean they’re gone for good.
“They live in that tropical habitat, and they came here as our habitat became more conducive to lovebugs,” Leppla explained. “That’s usually what happens. And so they spread, and they can certainly just recede right back to the tropics.”
But that begs the question: what are the impacts of lovebugs possibly disappearing from Florida?
The short answer? Not much.
In fact, lovebug guts reportedly contain an enzyme that can eat through the clearcoat of a vehicle, which can damage the vehicle’s paint. As such, it could be good news for drivers.
“It’s not going to cause a lot of issues for the folks here in Florida,” Leppla stated. “Only the car wash people.”
UF researchers have also issued a list of myths about lovebugs, which goes as follows:
| MYTH | FACT |
|---|---|
| Lovebugs escaped after UF researchers brought them into Florida. | Lovebugs are not native to the southern U.S. They made their way into the region through Texas in the early 1920s, potentially expanding to other areas thanks to factors like wind, vehicle traffic and sod transport. |
| UF researchers genetically engineered lovebugs to kill mosquitoes. | Lovebugs are small, herbivorous insects, and they have neither the mandibles nor speed to hunt down mosquitoes. In addition, lovebugs are generally active during the day, while mosquitoes come out at twilight. |
| Lovebugs are attracted to automobiles. | Female lovebugs are attracted to UV-irradiated aldehydes, which are used in vehicle exhaust fumes. As such, lovebugs can mistake these chemicals for odors that are emitted from decaying organic matter at egg-laying sites. |
| Lovebugs mate the entire time they’re coupled. | Sperm transfer requires around 12.5 hours, but pairs of lovebugs can stayed stuck together for several days while they feed and disperse. |
| Body fluids of lovebugs are acidic and immediately dissolve car paint. | Macerated lovebugs can become acidic within 24 hours, so no permanent damage is caused if the surface is cleaned before the bug splatter is baked by the sun. |
| Lovebugs have no significant natural enemies. | While there aren’t many cases of predation in the wild, lovebugs can be eaten by spiders, dragonflies and birds. |
| UF scientists are working to control lovebugs. | UF received research funds from the state and federal agencies in the 1970s, but much more priority is now placed on studying dangerous pests like mosquitoes, which often carry harmful diseases. |
For more information on lovebugs, you can read Leppla’s “Living With Lovebugs” by clicking here.
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