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Plecia nearctica - University of Florida
Plecia nearctica - Wikipedia
Lovebugs have been common in Houston at least since I was a kid in the 60's. Their bonding for days while mating is what gives them their common name, though they are flies and not true bugs. The larvae eat moist, decomposing plant matter, and in that sense they are beneficial to gardeners and at least neutral to most people. However, they can splat on cars and houses, causing people to go through a lot of trouble to clean them off.
I found this love bug on a satsuma leaf on April 6, 2017. Its wings are spread because it is about to fly. I had seen the first love bugs of the year, a coupled mating pair, a few days before.
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| Click to see it bigger! |
The next day, April 7, 2017, I found a couple mating on a shrimp plant leaf.
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