Higher evolution?
Sun, May 31, 2009 at 1:57 PM
Hi Lisa Anne and Daniel, twice I have found mating March Flies (?) with the head of one being miniscule in comparasion to the other. Could they be as their human counterparts in that the male’s thinking has been usurped by another body part? Perhaps this then is our future.
Just curious,
Dwaine
near Casper, WY
March Flies (male on left) Mating
Hi again Dwaine,
While your evolutionary comment is highly amusing, the flaw in the logic is that the male March Fly has the larger eyes, and larger head. We are not certain what species your March Flies in the family Bibionidae represent. Lovebugs in the genus Plecia are a group of March Flies with considerable notoriety.
¶ Posted 01 June 2009 § ‡ ° Tagged: bug love Now there’s MORE of them!
Hi again–
Wrote a few days ago when I was trying to identify this fly/wasp like bug. They were flying about in the hundreds–well now they are flying around nearer the thousands… …and today I saw a few pairs mating on the driveway. Noticed that one gender has a large head, whilst the other has a rather tiny one. I won’t venture near guessing which is male or female. They are not much more than 3/8″ long.
J Cannon
North San Diego County, CA
Hi J,
These are March Flies in the family Bibionidae and they are right on time. BugGuide has numerous images of mating pairs. The big eyed male has the bigger head. According to BugGuide, the larvae feed on decaying organic matter. There are several genera of March Flies, and we are not sure which your specimens belong to. The infamous Florida Love Bugs, Plecia nearctica, get so plentiful, and are often found copulating, so there is much information available online including on Wikipedia.
¶ Posted 28 March 2008 § ‡ ° Tagged: bug love New Orleans Love Bug
Hello,
My name is Yvonne Nieves. I live in a suburb of New Orleans called Avondale. This area that I live in is a pretty swampy area as most of Louisiana is. My question to you is that the photos that I am sending to you are photos of what we call here Love Bugs. No one here knows where they come from, what is their purpose, why do they come twice a year, the Spring and in the Fall. We are pretty much getting over them right now. They usually last for 2 weeks, then they are completely gone and there will be no signs of them anylonger. They are present in the millions and they are probably the most aggravating insect that lives around here for just those 2 weeks every Spring and every Fall. The bugs are connected by their tails, most of them in pairs, and very few that are alone. One has a head or is it eyes bigger than the other as you can see in the photos. If you have any idea of what these bugs are, and their correct name, and why and where they come from, I would greatly appreciat the information, and so would thousands of other people. Sincerely,
Yvonne Nieves
Hi Yvonne,
These really are Lovebugs, the common name for several species of March Flies in the genus Plecia. Female Lovebugs have the small eyes and males have the large eyes. Why they exist is a philosophical question we would prefer not to tackle.
¶ Posted 14 September 2006 § ‡ ° Tagged: bug love Help with a bug
I found this bug, dead, in my son’s room. I have no idea what it is, but he has recently suffered from some bites. I was wondering 1) what this might be, and 2) could it be the culprit of the bites?
Thank you!
Is your son’s room in Florida? We believe this is a male Lovebug in the genus Plecia, a Fly.
No, not Florida. Sorry for not including that in my original e-mail; we ARE in Georgia, though, and I’ve heard of Lovebugs in this area. Just never seen one before. If this isn’t what could have bitten him, I will have to keep looking. Thanks!
¶ Posted 03 May 2006 § ‡ ° Florida Love bugs
Found your site and love it. Great pictures and information! I noticed that you do not have pictures of the Florida Love bug. I am sending you one of a male and one of the male and female in the way they are found most often. If I am able to get one of the female alone I will send that also but so far I have not found one. They are just now coming into season, October and May I think are the times they fly and make a real nuisance of themselves.
Yvonne Griffiths
Morriston, Florida
Thank You Yvonne,
We just love getting new species and new additions to our Love Among the Bugs page. How appropo that these flies are called Lovebugs. Plecia nearctica belongs to the Family Bibionidae. They are often hazardous to motorists because of their sheer numbers on roadways. Here is an excellent site with much information.
¶ Posted 09 September 2005 § ‡ ° Tagged: bug love 
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