[element_block_heading _id="706165" heading="Love Bugs" style="default"]

 

A recent immigrant from central Florida, the Love Bug has a dark body, velvety black head and wings, and an orange thorax. Commonly called a “bug,” the Love Bug is really a fly known for its spectacular seasonal mass mating rituals, one in the spring and one in the fall. Often seen mating in the air, over highways, these flies can mate for hours. Fly carcasses stuck on car bodies need to be removed immediately before the fluid in the insect’s body discolors the paint.

Latin Name: Plecia Nearctica

Habitat:Lawn and Prairie Grasses

Diet: nectar and pollen