Students have swatted, slapped and struck lovebugs for the last couple of weeks and will be forced to continue tolerating the little black pests as the season nears its an end in September.
Plecia nearctica, more commonly known as lovebugs, descend upon the Gulf Coast twice a year, Department Head of Entomology Tim Schowalter said.
Though some students think the bug has no other purpose than mating mid-flight, Schowalter said the larvae stage consume decaying material, notably grass roots, and help the natural decomposition process.
“Their natural role is to chew up dead stuff,” Schowalter said. “In chewing up dead stuff, they provide nutrients and space for new plant growth.”
Schowalter said the flies find shelter in the ground or in low shrubbery and are attracted to wetter areas, which explains why Hurricane Isaac didn’t wipe out the population. If anything, he said, the rains would increase their longevity and repopulation like it did after storms like Hurricane Rita. Males normally live two or three days, females live up to a week, and the entire season can last more than a month, Schowalter said.
“In the city, it’s hotter and drier,” he said. “Lovebugs would probably prefer moister areas in the suburbs.”
Rasheda Gros, chemistry junior, said she finds lovebugs more annoying in her hometown Edgard, La., than in Baton Rouge.
“There was really no way to deal with them. They’re everywhere,” Gros said. “I think it’s way better in Baton Rouge than at home.”
But Sarah Hetzel, political science freshman, said she finds lovebugs to be worse on campus than her home near the Interstate.
“Bugs on campus in general are bad. They’re worse here than home,” Hetzel said.
Aside from being a nuisance, the pests’ acidic bodily fluids can damage car paint if no action is taken, Schowalter said. Lovebugs are attracted to exhaust fumes and lighter surfaces, he said.
Gros said from her experience, lovebugs can be found around white cars, like her aunt’s. She said it’s impossible to open the car door without letting a few pests in. She said the bugs have also affected her clothing choice.
“You don’t want to wear white, because they’ll attack you,” Gros said.
Hetzel said lovebugs and ants found their way into her car when she left the University when campus was closed for Hurricane Isaac. But the only way to deal with them, Hetzel said, is to “wait for them to go away.”
Logan Knight, electrical engineering junior, had similar advice.
“Treat them like flies. Ignore them,” he said.
Schowalter said pesticides are no use against the lovebugs and is even counterproductive since they help plants.
“I just usually tell people that’s one of the things about living on the Gulf Coast,” he said. “Like hurricanes, you need to be prepared for them.”
