Subject: March fly?
Geographic location of the bug: Tampa bay fl
Date: 02/19/2018
Time: 04:17 PM EDT
Your letter to the bugman: We were on the beach and everyone assumed it was a love bug but it was solid black the size of my Fingernail. They were in a swarm landing on people some people were covered in about 20 of them .
How you want your letter signed: Nicole
Dear Nicole,
This is indeed a female March Fly. The Love Bugs that are well known in parts of Florida and the South are also March Flies, but Love Bugs, Plecia nearctica, which are pictured on BugGuide, are red and black. So, all Love Bugs are March Flies, but there are many species of March Flies that are not Love Bugs.