This week for Flora and Fauna Friday we have the bane of windshields, the living smoke of spring, that monogamous miasma seeping beneath the door jam. This week we’re surrounded by Lovebugs (Plecia nearctica).
Lovebugs are a species of Fly native to the Gulf Coast. They lay their eggs in the damp, warm soil found beneath leaf litter, rotten logs, hay, and compost. Their half-inch long, gray maggots peacefully feed on decaying plant material in the soil for several months before pupating. In mid-May this tranquil existence is wrenched asunder by a hedonistic haze issued from the Earth. The eclosure of the adult fly. Adult Lovebugs are just over a quarter inch long with a prominent orange thoracic mantle floating upon an oily black body. These bicolored bugs emerge en masse into a frenzy of passion. The species earned the common name Lovebug from their reproductive behavior of coupling together, end to end, and remaining attached for the remainder of their lifespan. Lovebugs are most often seen in these mating pairs. Each fly only lives a few days but an emergence can last for weeks. There are two emergences per year, with the major emergence in mid-May and the minor in mid-September.
Lovebugs tend to congregate in open areas like fields, roadways, and yards. They are attracted to reflective white surfaces such as wildflowers, vehicles, and walls. This can make them quite the nuisance. They hover around homes, adhering to the occupants on their arrival and departures. They cling to parked cars and hitch rides within the cab. They make their way through every seam and threshold where afforded the clearance. They can even be economically damaging when blanketing the roadways. The Flies clog radiators, etch enamel paint, and obfuscate vision as they collide with cars. Their flesh is highly acidic. This makes them unappetizing to predators and can even eat through car paint if left uncleaned. But, even this spring swarm has its upsides. The Lovebug larvae are important parts of the nutrient processing cycle, accelerating decomposition of plant material to make the nutrients trapped inside it available to plants again. The adults are critical pollinators for many small wildflower species. As the Lovebugs feed on nectar, bumbling their way across the flowers in search of it, they collect and distribute pollen wherever they roam.
Lovebugs were not always prevalent on our Island. The species is native to Central America but, around the turn of the 20th century, they had made their way to the Gulf Coast. Over the next 50 years, they gradually spread throughout the coastal plain of the southeastern US, including Edisto. There is a second species of Lovebug (Plecia americana) that is native to South Carolina. This species is less common, lives in woodlands, and only emerges in spring. It’s distinguished by having a solid orange thorax, both above and below.
