30-06-2025
Lovebug invasion: Are they truly harmless?
'Do something': Patience wearing thin amid surge of seasonal bugs supposedly beneficial to nature
Once again, the annual war with lovebugs, or Plecia nearctica, has begun.
The slopes of Gyeyangsan in Incheon have recently been blanketed with warms of lovebugs. Their carcasses have piled up so densely on the trails and stairways that the ground is barely visible.
Posts about a massive surge of lovebugs on the mountain flooded online communities over the weekend, with videos showing swarms of the insects clinging to hikers' hats, clothing, and backpacks.
'There were dead lovebugs all over the ground, but what made it worse were the swarms flying in my face. I could hardly see or breathe. Hiking felt like going into battle,' one user wrote on X.
Kim Jae-woong, a hiker in his 30s from Bupyeong, Incheon, who visited the mountain on Saturday, told The Korea Herald that the summit was "completely covered with bugs."
People who reached the summit had to rush back down as quickly as possible due to the insects, he said.
In a video shared by Kim, lovebugs are seen swarming and clinging to his upper body, and he tries to fend them off with an electric mosquito net.
In another clip, the ground around a rest bench for hikers is covered with numerous dead lovebugs which resemble piles of dirt. Kim was even able to scoop up a handful of the bugs with a small shovel.
Once mainly found in southeastern China and Okinawa, Japan, lovebugs have been appearing in large numbers across Seoul since 2022.
Called "lovebugs" for their habit of flying in mating pairs while searching for food, they favor hot and humid conditions and are usually observed from late June to mid-July. This year, however, they began emerging as early as mid-June, amid unusually high temperatures and earlier than usual heavy rains.
Lovebugs are considered beneficial insects, aiding in flower pollination, and serving as a major food source for fish, birds, and other insects. Feeding on dew and nectar, they neither bite people nor transmit illnesses.
Despite their seemingly harmless nature, the summer bugs have become a public nuisance as their large swarms not only appear disturbing but also disrupt foot traffic.
According to the Seoul Metropolitan Government, the city received 9,296 complaints about lovebugs last year, nearly double the 4,418 cases reported the year before.
Seong, 29, who lives in Eunpyeong-gu near Bukhansan — an area known for its high concentration of lovebugs — told The Korea Herald, 'The humid weather is already stressful, and the lovebugs make it worse. They don't bite, but they constantly fly at people. I walk faster outside these days. If this isn't a pest, what is?'
Although sentiment is growing that lovebugs are more of a nuisance than a benefit, local governments and environmental groups are promoting coexistence over pesticide use, stressing the insects' 'two-week' lifespan.
Adult male lovebugs live for about three to four days, while females survive for up to a week. Each female can lay between 200 and 300 eggs at a time, but because of the low survival rate, their population tends to drop sharply about two weeks after they appear in large numbers.
Some experts have raised concerns that targeting lovebugs with chemical controls could harm ecological balance.
"Spraying pesticides can also kill natural predators of lovebugs, such as mantises and spiders. When prey increases, predators follow, so the lovebug population will naturally decrease over time," said Lee Dong-kyu, a professor of environmental health at Kosin University.
He also pointed out that pyrethroid-based insecticides, which are frequently used in pest control, may be harmful to humans as they've been associated with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.
