All About Lovebugs -- the Insects, Not the Cars Quiz

Answer: False

Nature created the lovebugs (Plecia nearctica) and transportation, probably aboard cargo ships, brought them to New Orleans and eventually to Florida and other US southern states. They do seem more numerous than the tourists visiting Disney World, however, to many a Florida resident.

Answer: False

Herbie and Fergie have acidic bodies and are more often than not just skipped over by any creature that might have the misfortune of taking a taste, though a very hungry bird or other animal might decide to dine on them. This includes motorcycle drivers, golf cart drivers and the like who frequently have to go through swarms of these critters, as lovebugs are very strongly attracted to asphalt and the engine exhaust.

Answer: Males 92 hours, females 72 - 86 hours

Herbie and Fergie have little time to get acquainted. They only live about 72-86 hours for the females and 92 hours for the males. Much of this time (56 hours or so) they are mating. The heavier female does the flying while the male hangs on so that another male cannot take his place, to fertilize the eggs and provide them with nutrients.

Answer: Black with a red patch

Lovebugs have a red patch behind the head to warn predators of their acidic bodies. As far as color is concerned, they are attracted to light colors. Many an unfortunate house painter in the American South has had to redo their paint jobs because of all the bugs they find stuck in the paint jobs during the various lovebug seasons. Light colored motor vehicles often look quite spotted after encountering the swarms of lovebugs on southern highways.

Answer: D. E. Hardy

Lovebugs were fairly new to the United States when D.E. Hardy described them in 1940. They now cover an area from Texas, through Louisiana and Florida, up through Georgia and even into North Carolina.

Answer: Yes

Herbie and Fergie's range covers the central part of Florida including Orlando and vicinity. These bugs are not found in the various amusements parks in Orlando, however, because of how well the landscape is maintained. You would find these critters on the highways leading to Orlando because there would be areas of rotting vegetation which the adult female lovebugs find very attractive for laying their eggs.

Answer: True

Lovebug females like Fergie can lay anywhere from one hundred fifty to six hundred eggs. They look for decaying leaves or other vegetation for their larvae to eat. Because of this, they are attracted to things that smell like rotten vegetation, like diesel exhaust. By eating the rotting vegetation, they break these plants down and help the soil.

Answer: False

Lovebugs rest during the night. During the day pairs of lovebugs can reach heights of 1,500 feet and are often in massive swarms up to twenty feet high much to the displeasure of many drivers on southern highways.

Answer: No

Lovebugs like Herbie and Fergie neither bite nor sting and are generally harmless except for motor vehicles which might encounter them and get their acidic bodies stuck on their paint jobs. They also pose a problem when they are hit en masse and go into a motor vehicle's engine.

Answer: Yes

There are probably many other names for these insects which pose many problems for drivers in the Southern states of the United States. These names are probably not fit for FunTrivia, however!