It's October and love is in the air in the Southeast -- with a cloud of particularly amorous flies.
Known as the lovebug (Plecia nearctica) and actually a fly (kin to the May fly), they're out in full force for their twice-a-year (sometimes) stage show. Lovebugs travel in pairs, locked together at the end of the abdomen, and spend their adult lives in a sort of airborne ecstacy -- not even bothering to eat.
This week they've been everywhere, doing the thing that they do. And getting in the way. And spreading scandal everywhere. Copulating on my shirt. Boffing on my head. Fornicating on my work equipment. As if I'm not even there.
I did see one unattached lovebug land on the bench at work, but it didn't stay in that condition for very long. While I pondered where the wheels might have fallen off my own love life, a second unattached lovebug dropped down, and in one smooth motion they coupled. He didn't even bother to buy her a drink first.
According to Wikipedia and other sources, these lovebugs spend most of their lives as larvae, living in tall grass, well hidden. As adults, the females live only two days, but they make the most out of that short time.
I first saw these lovebugs within days of my arrival in Charleston back in 1997. I'd never seen anything like that before, and of course I had to ask around. Strangest things I've ever seen.
Lovebugs have two mating seasons, in the spring and the fall. Sometimes they keep a lower profile; one year you might not see any while the next year you could see a lot of them. Their off-and-on appearance -- not to mention their oversexed behavior -- lends itself to its share of urban legend. One story has it that they're not a real species; they're a genetic experiment gone bad at the University of Florida. A variation I've heard is that they're created by Monsanto to keep mosquito populations down. Untrue, say the folks at snopes.com. They are a real species, indigenous to Central America, and may have stowed away on a ship (in the champagne suite?) and landed here. Now, they can be seen along the Gulf coast and lower Atlantic coast, as far north as Wilmington. But they're susceptible to weather patterns -- in the wake of Hurricane Ike there has been an incredible number of sightings along the Texas coast.
Generally, lovebugs are considered harmless. About the only (other) obnoxious quality they have is that a bunch of them may splatter themselves on cars, and their slightly acidic guts can etch the paint job. And yeah, they do get in the way.
Other than that, they're more entertaining than sea monkeys.
Known as the lovebug (Plecia nearctica) and actually a fly (kin to the May fly), they're out in full force for their twice-a-year (sometimes) stage show. Lovebugs travel in pairs, locked together at the end of the abdomen, and spend their adult lives in a sort of airborne ecstacy -- not even bothering to eat.
This week they've been everywhere, doing the thing that they do. And getting in the way. And spreading scandal everywhere. Copulating on my shirt. Boffing on my head. Fornicating on my work equipment. As if I'm not even there.
I did see one unattached lovebug land on the bench at work, but it didn't stay in that condition for very long. While I pondered where the wheels might have fallen off my own love life, a second unattached lovebug dropped down, and in one smooth motion they coupled. He didn't even bother to buy her a drink first.
According to Wikipedia and other sources, these lovebugs spend most of their lives as larvae, living in tall grass, well hidden. As adults, the females live only two days, but they make the most out of that short time.
I first saw these lovebugs within days of my arrival in Charleston back in 1997. I'd never seen anything like that before, and of course I had to ask around. Strangest things I've ever seen.
Lovebugs have two mating seasons, in the spring and the fall. Sometimes they keep a lower profile; one year you might not see any while the next year you could see a lot of them. Their off-and-on appearance -- not to mention their oversexed behavior -- lends itself to its share of urban legend. One story has it that they're not a real species; they're a genetic experiment gone bad at the University of Florida. A variation I've heard is that they're created by Monsanto to keep mosquito populations down. Untrue, say the folks at snopes.com. They are a real species, indigenous to Central America, and may have stowed away on a ship (in the champagne suite?) and landed here. Now, they can be seen along the Gulf coast and lower Atlantic coast, as far north as Wilmington. But they're susceptible to weather patterns -- in the wake of Hurricane Ike there has been an incredible number of sightings along the Texas coast.
Generally, lovebugs are considered harmless. About the only (other) obnoxious quality they have is that a bunch of them may splatter themselves on cars, and their slightly acidic guts can etch the paint job. And yeah, they do get in the way.
Other than that, they're more entertaining than sea monkeys.
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