Plecia nearctica was first described in Galveston, Texas in 1940.
Humans most likely aided in the quick dispersal of P. nearctica across the Gulf Coast states. Adult lovebugs can easily be transported in cars and their larvae through commercial shipments of sod.
Because of their short lifespan, quickly finding a mate is important for the success of P. nearctica. Males swarming over nesting sites dart out and "hit" any insect or object that flies in their area. If it has not contacted a female, then the male goes back to hovering. Males use physical contact, visual, and auditory cues to find single females.
Females use chemical scents and visual cues in order to find appropriate locations for ovipositing.
Communication Channels: visual ; tactile ; acoustic ; chemical
Perception Channels: visual ; tactile ; acoustic ; chemical
Lovebugs are not in danger of extinction and are not part of any conservation programs.
US Federal List: no special status
CITES: no special status
Eggs hatch and mature through larval and pupal stages, emerging as adults between 3 and 9 months later.
Eclosion from the pupae takes about five hours for males, and six for females. Within two hours of emerging, both males and females are fully pigmented.
Development - Life Cycle: metamorphosis
Adult lovebugs are considered to be a "pain" by many people. They are attracted to highways where they are smashed by passing vehicles. The bodies of lovebugs cause damage to the paint of cars and can cause radiators to overheat. Lovebugs are also attracted to freshly painted surfaces and can be seen in the dried paint of many buildings.
Plecia nearctica lay their eggs in places with dying vegetation. After hatching, the larva feeds on this vegetation. Lovebug larva benefit humans by breaking down dead vegetation and returning it to the soil.
Lovebugs are an introduced species, and do not have many natural enemies. Because of this, lovebug populations continue to grow and move. Many people consider P. nearctica a pest. Methods are being sought to control the populations of these insects. Beauveria bassiana, a fungus, is being considered as a tool in the control of P. nearctica. In testing, Beauveria bassiana, proved to be pathogenic to the lovebug and to cause signifigant mortality among larva and adults.
Adult Plecia nearctica are completely dependent upon nectar and pollen as food. Lovebugs feed during the day, and are thought to stop feeding in the late afternoon. Lovebug larvae use decaying vegetation as a source of food. Emerging lovebugs cannot survive more than 24 hours without food.
Because of the mating position (females and males in opposite directions), it is believed that males do not feed as often as females.
Plant Foods: leaves; nectar; pollen
Primary Diet: herbivore (Folivore , Nectarivore )
Today, lovebugs occur in large populations in every state along the Gulf of Mexico as well as Georgia and South Carolina. Populations of lovebugs also exist throughout Central America. Plecia nearctica was recognized in Texas and Louisiana as early as 1911, but was not seen in Florida until about 1949.
Biogeographic Regions: nearctic (Introduced ); neotropical (Native )
Both larval and adult lovebugs are found primarily in grass habitats. Plecia nearctica are strong flyers, however, and can be encountered in almost any habitat. They are especially partial to freshly cut lawns, animal pastures, and decaying vegetation. Adult lovebugs have even been spotted several miles off the Gulf Coast (over water), and at altitudes of 1500 feet.
Range elevation: 457.2 (high) m.
Habitat Regions: temperate ; tropical
Terrestrial Biomes: taiga ; savanna or grassland ; chaparral ; forest
Other Habitat Features: suburban ; agricultural
Like many other insects, lovebugs have a short lifespan. After metamorphosis, adult males live from two to five days and adult females up to seven.
Lovebugs are sexually dimorphic. Males are much smaller than females, but have larger eyes. Lovebugs have seven to twelve segments on each antenna and have branched wings. Their bodies are mostly black, with a large orange/red area on top of the thorax.
Other Physical Features: ectothermic ; bilateral symmetry ; polymorphic
Sexual Dimorphism: female larger
There are no known species that prey on the early stages of P. nearctica, nor are there any that particularly feed on the adult fly. Lovebugs are considered to be pests to humans. Biologists have tested different fungi on lovebug larva as a possibility of biological control.
Plecia nearctica emerge from their pupal stage ready to mate. Males emerge first and hover above the emergence site. Male lovebug swarms consist of large males near the ground, medium males in the middle, and small males farthest from the ground. The large males (closest to the ground) are able to "pair" with the females before the other males. There is evidence of a great amount of male intraspecific competition over females.
Once the females emerge, they fly up through the swarm of males. Males usually grasp females in the air, but always have to "pair" on the ground. Males may also try to "break up" other copulating pairs in order to take the female. Males can separate couples that have not completely engaged their genitalia. If a couple has been paired more than four and a half minutes, they are almost impossible to separate.
During copulation, males face the opposite direction of the female. Lovebugs remain paired for about three days. Because of their short lifespan, lengthy copulation is especially costly for males. Although lovebugs are able to mate more then once, they usually do not. After the male and female separate, the female lays her eggs and dies.
Plecia nearctica are most noted for their copulating method. Males and females are seen flying together, attached at a 180-degree angle.
Plecia nearctica emerge between the months of March and December, with the largest groups emerging in May and September. After emerging, male lovebugs swarm around the nesting site waiting to mate with the females.
Female lovebugs lay their eggs in decaying vegetation and soil.
Breeding interval: Lovebugs breed only once in their lifetimes.
Breeding season: May, September
Key Reproductive Features: semelparous ; sexual ; fertilization (Internal ); oviparous
After ovipostion, there is no further parental care or involvement.
Parental Investment: pre-fertilization (Provisioning, Protecting: Female)
The lovebug (Plecia nearctica) is a species of march fly found in parts of Central America and the southeastern United States, especially along the Gulf Coast.[2] It is also known as the honeymoon fly or double-headed bug. During and after mating, matured pairs remain together, even in flight, for up to several days.[3]
The species was first described in 1940 by D. E. Hardy, but was seen in Louisiana as early as 1911.[4] At that time, he reported the incidence of lovebugs to be widespread, but most common in Texas, Florida, Alabama, Mississippi, and Louisiana.[2] However, by the end of the 20th century the species had spread heavily to all areas bordering the Gulf of Mexico, as well as Georgia and South Carolina. They are also present in other countries including Australia. L. A. Hetrick, 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.[5]
Lovebugs' larvae 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 sweet clover, goldenrod, and Brazilian pepper.[2]
Localized lovebug flights can number in the millions. 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.[5][6][7] In south Florida, a third (but smaller) flight can occur in December.[2] 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.[2]
This species' reputation as a public nuisance is due not to any bite or sting (it is incapable of either), but to its slightly acidic body chemistry. There are no health risks to humans, as disease cannot be transmitted through them.[8] Because airborne lovebugs can exist in enormous numbers near highways, they die in large numbers on automobile 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 pH but may become acidic at 4.25 pH if left on the car for a day.[2] In the past, the acidity of the dead adult body, especially the female's egg masses, often resulted in pits and etches in automotive paint and chrome if not quickly removed.[9] 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.[2]
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.[2]
Urban legend holds that lovebugs are synthetic—the result of a University of Florida genetics experiment gone wrong.[3]
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 University of Florida created them by manipulating DNA to control mosquito populations.[3]
Much speculation about the lovebug still thrives. This is partly because the larval 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,[2] biological control of these non-pest flies is not a priority for funding.
Lovebugs are subject to some significant natural controls, such as various parasitic fungi,[2] and dry weather, which dries out the thatch, resulting in a higher mortality rate for the immature. As the lovebug migrated around the Gulf Coast, 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 natural controls 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 large numbers due to occasional local conditions that may not be repeated in successive years.
While lovebugs are not a favored food of most insectivores due to their acidic taste, lovebug larvae—and some adults—are food for birds such as quail and robins. Arthropod predators include spiders, some predatory insects such as earwigs, at least two species of beetle larvae, and centipedes. The white topped pitcher plant, Sarracenia leucophylla, is adept at trapping the adults in the fall. [9]
Female lovebugs can lay as many as 100-350 eggs and regularly lay these eggs around decaying material on the top layer of ground soil.[10] 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 as decaying plants on the soil and other organic material, and live and remain in the soil until they develop to the pupa stage.[10] During the warmer months the lovebug larvae remain in the larvae phase for approximately 120 days and approximately 240 days during the cooler months.[11] Lovebugs typically stay in the pupa stage about 7–9 days before reaching the adult phase, in which they can start reproducing.[12]
Once adults, lovebugs are ready to start copulating to begin reproducing. Adult male lovebugs emerge first from the pupal stage and hover around until female lovebugs emerge.[13] Mating between lovebugs takes place immediately after emergence of the adult females.[14] A male lovebug copulates and will remain paired up until the female has been fully 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.[15] However, Thornhill (1976c) recorded recapture data that showed males lived longer in the field than females.[2]
The lovebug (Plecia nearctica) is a species of march fly found in parts of Central America and the southeastern United States, especially along the Gulf Coast. It is also known as the honeymoon fly or double-headed bug. During and after mating, matured pairs remain together, even in flight, for up to several days.
The species was first described in 1940 by D. E. Hardy, but was seen in Louisiana as early as 1911. At that time, he reported the incidence of lovebugs to be widespread, but most common in Texas, Florida, Alabama, Mississippi, and Louisiana. However, by the end of the 20th century the species had spread heavily to all areas bordering the Gulf of Mexico, as well as Georgia and South Carolina. They are also present in other countries including Australia. L. A. Hetrick, 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.
Lovebugs' larvae 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 sweet clover, goldenrod, and Brazilian pepper.
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