apples to oranges: Go Away, No One Likes You

The Love Bug. No, not the cute car Herbie, the actual bug. Story has it that the University of Florida tried to modify some genetics in their quest to find a good bug to eat mosquitos. Somewhere along the line there, they escaped and overpopulated every area in the south east United States. Not only do they not do anything (no pollination, no mosquito eating...insectivores don't even like to eat them because they taste horrible) but they are one of the biggest nuisances I've come across in my life. I actually think that their sole purpose might be to fly for your face while you walk past them.

They hang around for about 5 weeks in late August and September en mass. They are attracted to light colored surfaces and fresh paint. Carpenters and painters often refuse to work during this time because the bugs will just ruin all of their jobs by getting stuck in fresh paint and construction work.

There is one reason in particular though, why I hate them so much:

"Lovebugs are a considerable nuisance to motorists. They congregate in unbelievable numbers along highways and the insects spatter on the windshields and grills of moving trucks and automobiles. Windshields become covered with the fatty remains, and vision is obscured. During flights, the flies clog radiator fins causing cars to overheat. They also get into refrigeration equipment on trucks causing them to malfunction. The fatty tissue will cause pitting of the car's finish if it is not removed within a few days."

That's right, you can't even get gratification from killing them with your car. Their dead bodies eat holes into it. During my research, I did add one more reason why armadillos are one of the coolest/most awkward animals on the planet:

"Although examinations of the stomach contents of armadillos have been negative, observations suggest that they, too, may be excellent predators of the love bug larvae."

This is our apartment porch today - which I cleaned yesterday free of them, both dead and alive.