By B.J. Jarvis
Pasco Extension Horticulture Agent
Dr. Norman Leppla
UF Professor/Integrated Pest Management Coordinator
It’s September, the kids are back in school and all is right with the world until SPLAT! A small black bug gets smeared across your windshield. Well, actually it’s two bugs. Yes, it is lovebug season again.
Lovebugs, which scientists call Plecia nearctica, are adult flies that fly around in pairs after mating. The larger of the two is the female and females are the pilot for the team, dragging her smaller mate around for most of the day.
Perhaps starting just after a good rainfall in late summer, the black and red insects emerge from the soil surface, climb high up on vegetation and take flight. They don’t bite or sting, but their smashed bodies smear windshields and can mar your car’s paint. Making matters worse, they seem attracted to heat and the smell of exhaust, so look out for an invasion at the fuel pumps and on the highways during the day.
Although some are out throughout the warmer months, the onslaught occurs only twice per year. The little critters emerge from the ground after feeding on decaying matter with siblings that number up to 600. The juveniles have spent about half a year feeding before emerging in May and again in September as adults.
So where did lovebugs come from? The tiny insects migrated from Central America more than 50 years ago, hitching a ride on shipped goods. They have since spread throughout the warmer portions of the Gulf Coast states.
Extermination is not an option. An attempt to spray highways in the 1960’s not only proved ineffective, but probably killed beneficial insects such as bees and butterflies.
The two different lovebug seasons last for four weeks. Here are a couple of ways to live with them:
–Start the lovebug season with a good coat of car wax. The slick surface can make it easier to remove those you hit.
–Wash your car regularly to minimize pitting of the paint, preferably within 24 hours.
–Install a screen or bug deflector on the car.
–Lovebugs love the daytime heat so, when possible, drive at night.
–Looking for a good excuse to put off that home improvement project? Don’t paint now, as the smell of fresh paint actually attracts the insects that then stick to the newly painted surface.
Look on the bright side. Lovebug juveniles are helpful decomposers of dead plant material. While that might not be much consolation, for the month of September, slow down, keep the hose and scrubber handy and try to keep a healthy dose of patience to survive the unlovable lovebug season.
For more information about living with lovebugs, visit edis.ifas.ufl.edu/pdffiles/IN/IN69400.pdf. In addition, the University of Florida’s integrated pest management website, ihttp://ipm.ifas.ufl.edu.
-B.J. Jarvis is horticulturist and extension director for Pasco County Cooperative Extension Service, a free service of the county and the University of Florida. For more information, visit the extension website at www.pasco.ifas.ufl.edu.
