Lovebugs live just three or four days, however they achieve a lot during that period of time. They madden motorists as they splatter their guts on windshields and hoods.
These pesky bugs arrived in Florida sometime during the mid 1900s. The invasive species came to Texas from Central America and migrated east, creeping from Louisiana down to Florida.
Things weren’t so bad, at first. But over the years, humans accidentally created the perfect recipe for these invaders to flourish. Farmers rearranged the way pastures were organized, bringing cattle closer together instead of letting them spread out far across open fields. Meanwhile, the Florida Road Department increased its grass-trimming by the highway.
The bugs spread across the state. By the late ’60s and early ’70s, there were so many lovebugs that it could be dangerous to drive during the day, said Dr. Norman Leppla, a professor in the University of Florida’s Department of Entomology and Nematology.
