Love Is In the Air

According to Wikipedia: 'The love bug ( Plecia nearctica) is a species of march fly found in parts of Central America and the southeastern United States, especially alone the Gulf Coast. It is also know as the honeymoon fly or double-headed bug. During and after mating, matured pairs remain together, even in flight, for up to several days.' They typically have two mating flights, one in late April and the other in late August and September. Thankfully they don't bite or sting! But they can be a major nuisance as they are attracted to certain colors, yellow being at the top of the list, so if you are wearing said colors you might end up with hundreds of them clinging to your clothing. They tend to gather in huge swarms around highways, and large numbers of them end their short little lives on the windshields of vehicles. If their remains aren't washed off almost immediately, their bodies will become very acidic and will pit and eat at paint and chrome. Once I made the mistake of trying to clean them off my windshield with dry wiper blades. Their 'acid' actually etched the glass and I had to have my windshield replaced! Everyone who has experienced love bugs has stories to tell, some funny but most not so. 

The news reports of the fires on the our west coast are horrendous! My heart breaks for all affected. Please stay safe my friends!