As a native Floridian, I decided to tackle a local Florida based folklore. This one is defined as an urban legend.
Urban Legends are a genre of folklore that are defined as being stories that are circulated as truth. They often have humorous, cautionary, or horrifying elements. Often times someone claims that a friend of a friend or family member actually experienced this or was a part of it. They often cannot be traced back to a single origin.
Legend has it that love bugs (pictured) were created as part of a University of Florida genetics experiment gone awry. Supposedly these little bugs were created to control the mosquito population.
I remember hearing the reason behind these bugs growing up. Although it seems that no one can quite remember where or when exactly it started.
Lovebugs are actually a type of fly that researchers first identified in the 1940s in Texas. They then migrated along the Gulf coast. I've attached an article for your reading pleasure.
If you're from Florida or one of the Gulf states I'm sure you've experienced love bug season, and you've had the displeasure of removing hoards of love bugs off your vehicle. However, when they are in their immature stage they are actually quite beneficial for the environment as they eat the excess cuttings from grass and foliage then process it to redistribute nutrients back into the soil.
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