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I don’t love “Lovebugs”… Several years ago, I was returning from visiting a friend. A 250 Mile round trip. It was a great clear crisp day to ride. A very enjoyable ride until… the “Love Bugs” appeared.

Here is an article from Wikipedia for those of you who may not know what a Lovebug is…

The lovebug, Plecia nearctica, is a member of the family of march flies. It is also known as the honeymoon fly, kissingbug, or double-headed bug. The adult is a small, flying insect common to parts of Central America and the southeastern United States, especially along the Gulf Coast.[2] During and after mating, adult pairs remain coupled, even in flight, for up to several days.[3]

The lovebug was first described in 1940 by D. E. Hardy from Galveston, Texas. At that time, he reported the incidence of lovebugs to be widespread, but most common in Texas and Louisiana.[2] However, by the end of the 20th century the species had spread heavily to all areas bordering the Gulf of Mexico, as well as Georgia, and South Carolina. L. A. Hetrick, writing in 1970, found it very widespread in central and northern Florida and described its flights as reaching altitudes of 300 to 450 metres (980 to 1,480 ft) and extending several kilometers over the Gulf.[4] In 2006, it was reported as far north asWilmington, North Carolina.[5]

During this time of year there are always bugs and “Lovebugs”. The “Lovebugs” are the worst when they are mating (i.e. Lovebugs). They make a mess of cars, motorcycles and yes… the riders. If you ride it is just something you have to deal with… but this today was an anomaly. I don’t know if it was the time of day, the area or what it was but there was the thickest swarms I had ever encountered. Motor cycles don’t have windshield wipers or washers so more and more bugs splattered on the windshield until it was getting to the point where I could hardly see through it. I couldn’t look over the windshield because my face and glasses would soon look like my windshield!

I had to stop to clean the windshield but on this stretch of road there wasn’t a safe place to pull over and without water I would just smear the bug guts around. Thanks goodness it had clouded up and started to rain… a rain just hard enough to wash the bug gust away. I was never so glad to see rain. The rain must have grounded the little critters. There was only a few Lovebugs after that. I don’t love Lovebugs!