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Living with Lovebugs in Florida

Living with Lovebugs in Florida. Norm Leppla UF/IFAS. Named Species of Animals. Insect Orders. Types of Flies. Pest Insects. Lovebugs are Pests!.

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Living with Lovebugs in Florida

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  1. Living with Lovebugs in Florida Norm Leppla UF/IFAS

  2. Named Species of Animals

  3. Insect Orders

  4. Types of Flies

  5. Pest Insects

  6. Lovebugs are Pests! We're getting lovebugs off of vehicles all the time. We hope that lovebugs stay around until Christmas, it's good for my business. (Lake City Reporter)

  7. Adult lovebugs live only 3-4 days Female lovebugs larger than males- deposit ca. 350 eggs Male lovebug’s eyes 4x larger than female’s- help locate mates?

  8. Lovebug Life Cycle Lovebug larvae require several months to develop into adults. Spring Generation October-April Fall Generation May-September

  9. Lovebug Larvae Lovebug larvae are beneficial. • Recycle decaying organic matter • Large numbers found under cow manure

  10. Lovebug Larval Habitat

  11. Adult Lovebugs Paynes Prairie

  12. Lovebug Flight Activity Leppla et al. (1974)

  13. Lovebug Mating and Dispersal • Mating begins when females fly into a swarm of males, usually in the morning. • Males compete for each female that emerges. • Larger males near the bottom of a swarm have greater mating success. • Mating lasts up to about 12 hours. • Dispersal continues for a day or two (or until smashed by a vehicle!).

  14. Lovebug Myths UF researchers brought lovebugs into Florida and genetically engineered them to eat mosquitoes.

  15. Lovebug Myths Phytophagous Entomophagous

  16. Lovebug Myths Lovebugs are attracted to vehicles and exhaust fumes.

  17. Lovebug Myths Their guts have some kind of enzyme that eats through the clearcoat on an automobile. It burns almost like an acid burn in your paint job. You can't scrape it off. You can't clean it off- it's permanent. (Lake City Reporter)

  18. Lovebug Myths Lovebugs fly around in copula.

  19. Lovebug Myths Sperm transfer

  20. Lovebug Myths UF is conducting research to control lovebugs. http://ipm.ifas.ufl.edu

  21. What To Do About Lovebugs? • Will it help to spray pesticides to control lovebugs? • Do they have any natural enemies? • Do repellents work? • How can I avoid lovebugs? • Swarms occur April-May & August-Sept.

  22. Information on Lovebugs • UF/IFAS Featured Creatures article on lovebugs: http://creatures.ifas.ufl.edu • EDIS article on lovebugs: http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu.edu/MG068 • UF/IFAS extension information source: http://solutionsforyourlife.ufl.edu

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