JACKSON, Miss. — You may have noticed lovebugs are out and about again. The reason they are not anywhere else, they love areas around the Gulf of Mexico. Not only do they love the gulf, but the bugs are also attracted to car emissions and black top roads according to Mississippi State Entomology Professor, Dr. Blake Layton. That is why it is common to see their remains on the windshield of your car.
Most people will tell you the bugs are a nuisance, not because they bite or sting, but because of the mess the dead ones leave behind. After a few hours they are pretty hard to remove, and after a day their body chemistry can become acidic, which means they can leave pits in your car paint or chrome if not removed soon.
Like march flies and mosquitos, lovebugs will sprout wings during their final stage of life, emerging from grass thatch twice a year. Their first flight is in the late spring and the other is in the late summer. Those flights last about four to five weeks. The bugs only live a few days in their final form which is just long enough for them to eat nectar, mate, lay eggs, and die.
