A car grill covered in smashed lovebugs during mating season. Photo: Rosie Betancourt/Jeff Greenberg/Universal Images Group via Getty Images
Hey, friends. Are you new to Florida? Have you noticed all the little black bugs having sex all over everything lately?
- We need to talk.
Driving the news: Welcome to what we in Florida call Lovebug Season.
What's happening: For a few weeks in April and May, these little harmless black march flies emerge from the thatch and find a mate and fly around Florida in great hordes.
- Males and females, um, join together at the lower abdomen and stay that way in flight and while feeding.
The intrigue: They only live for three or four days, but those days are filled with sex.
- After mating, the male dies and the female drags him around until she lays her eggs.
Why it matters: Many thousands of them find their way into Florida homes this time of year, and more are slaughtered by cars, making them a nuisance.
Yes, bug: They don't sting or bite. And they're good for the environment.
- Experts recommend washing your windshield, grill and front bumper regularly, before the bugs dry and corrode your paint.
Flashback: The lovebug problem isn't as bad now as it was in the 1970s, when motorists had to pull off the highway every 10 miles to clean bugs off their windshields.
- They're also not the product of a University of Florida science experiment gone awry. Or so they say.
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