<P> This species' reputation as a public nuisance is due not to any bite or sting (it is incapable of either), but to its slightly acidic body chemistry . Because airborne lovebugs can exist in enormous numbers near highways, they die in large numbers on automobile windshields, hoods, and radiator grills when the vehicles travel at high speeds . If left for more than an hour or two, the remains become extremely difficult to remove . Their body chemistry has a nearly neutral 6.5 pH but may become acidic at 4.25 pH if left on the car for a day . In the past, the acidity of the dead adult body, especially the female's egg masses, often resulted in pits and etches in automotive paint and chrome if not quickly removed . However, advances in automotive paints and protective coatings have reduced this threat significantly . Now the greatest concern is excessive clogging of vehicle radiator air passages by the bodies of the adults, with a reduction of the cooling effect on engines, and the obstruction of windshields when the remains of the adults and egg masses are smeared on the glass . </P> <P> Lovebug adults are attracted to light - colored surfaces, especially if they are freshly painted, but adults congregate almost anywhere, apparently reacting to the effects of sunlight on automobile fumes, asphalt, and other products affected by environmental factors still not completely understood . </P> <P> Urban legend holds that lovebugs are synthetic--the result of a University of Florida genetics experiment gone wrong . </P> <P> Much speculation about the lovebug still thrives . This is partly because the larval form of this insect is seldom seen, as it lives and feeds in the thatch of grasses for most of the year . While various fungi are suspected of being natural controls for this species, biological control of these non-pest flies is not a priority for funding . </P>

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