Ugh, the bugs are amongst us!

Marti Szczur

 Nothing to do with horses …

 

I am not a big fan of bugs. I know they have a role in the ecosystem, so I acknowledge their importance in the big scheme of things. But, still, that doesn’t mean I have to like them. My least favorite are ticks, even if they don’t fly.  Stink bugs do fly and nonchalantly buzz you, and they are indeed, stinky, if  you squash them. The Asian lady bug is also on my yucky bug list, as they cluster together in inappropriate places, such as air ducts, and smell horrid when they are roasted by the furnace heat on the first cold day of Fall.

 

Florida has provided a new inductee into my yucky bug club. The Binomial name is Piecia nearctica, and they are a member of the fly family. They are called by several names, all of which are cover-up names for what they really are … f@c%ing bugs. And, I mean this literally. That is, during and after mating, matured pairs remain embraced, even in flight for several days.  They are called Lovebugs … no doubt because only bugs in love would fornicate while flying around. Or, if you are explaining to a 5 year old, they are called two-headed or double headed bugs … why else would you have a bug with a head on each end of its body? However, aside from being flying f@c%ing bugs, what makes them such a nuisance is that they swarm … everywhere. Harmless yes, but still yucky. Check out the photos. When driving you hear the splat sound of Lovebugs departing this life on the windshield of your car.  When they land on me or my horse or my lunch, I find myself batting them away with a “get a room … or leaf or somewhere else to enjoy your honeymoon ecstasy away from me.” Doesn’t work. They blissfully hover and drift together totally oblivious of their high rating on my yuckiness scale. I am all about love, but I will not miss these annoying yucky bugs.

 

Just in case you want to know more about these amorous bugs, check out https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lovebug








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