Where Did Florida Love Bugs Come From

The strange looking insect commonly known as the lovebug managed to escape from researchers and began to spread rapidly wreaking havoc on people and cars.

Where did florida love bugs come from. The love bug plecia nearctica is a species of march fly found in parts of central america and the southeastern united states especially along the gulf coast. Beginning in the early to mid 1900s however they began to travel northward to the southeastern portions of the u s including florida texas louisiana georgia and as far north as north carolina. Where did love bugs come from. Somewhere in florida between tampa and ocala on interstate 75 lovers are prematurely departing from one another at a rapid pace.

The most persistent rumor is that lovebugs are the result of a 1950s university of florida experiment that went horribly wrong. Supposedly at least two of the strange looking insects escaped from the laboratory and began to rapidly reproduce. The result is the bi annual swarm that. It is love bug season as sweet as they sound love bugs are actually pretty gross and not to mention annoying.

I know this because i found about a hundred of them stuck to my windshield. Where did lovebugs come from. It s that time of the year love bug season. Where did love bugs come from.

The species was first described in 1940 by d. Where did love bugs come from. 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. By wayne wallace may 4 2011.

The infamous florida lovebugs are no bugs at all actually. Sometime in the 1950s an experiment gone horribly wrong at the university of florida produced a pesky bug with no apparent purpose. Originally love bugs were considered native only to south and central america. The love bug a fly in the bibionidae family also known as the honeymoon fly telephone bug double headed bug united bug and march fly is a nuisance any florida motorist is unhappily.

Bugs or true bugs belong to the order hemiptera florida lovebugs are true flies of the order diptera florida love flies just doesn t have the same ring to it though. The university of florida says they did not introduce the love bug to the state but that in the 20th century the bugs migrated from central america and traveled. Despite their name few people really enjoy when love bugs pop up in may and september despite urban myths love bugs didn t.