# What are these insects I saw flying around in pairs, in South Carolina two weeks ago? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [September 6, 2017, 11:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-these-insects-i-saw-flying-around-in-pairs-in-south-carolina-two-weeks-ago/795689 "2017-09-06T23:34:07Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spectre_of_pithecanthropus/32/12343_2.png) [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spectre_of_Pithecanthropus)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2017, 11:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-these-insects-i-saw-flying-around-in-pairs-in-south-carolina-two-weeks-ago/795689/1 "2017-09-06T23:34:07Z")
As many of you know, I went to Charleston SC a couple of weeks ago. While there, I became acquainted with many of the local arthropods, both marine and otherwise. The mosquitoes, for example. The ones at Patriots Point, where I was staying, snobbishly avoided me and gave me the high hat with their probosces in the air. But the ones in Charleston itself couldn’t get enough of me. Actually, for whatever reason, mosquitoes generally have passed me by except for when I was a kid. But enough about mosquitoes. While in SC, I noticed what I first thought were largish black or dark colored insects buzzing around; they looked almost big enough to be wasps though I knew they couldn’t be. On closer inspection, I discovered that it was _pairs_ of insects locked together while in flight, presumably as part of their mating cycle. What kind of insects were they? ---
**Author:** ![burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/burpo_the_wonder_mutt/32/365_2.png) [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/burpo_the_wonder_mutt)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2017, 11:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-these-insects-i-saw-flying-around-in-pairs-in-south-carolina-two-weeks-ago/795689/2 "2017-09-06T23:58:23Z")
[Lovebugs.](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lovebug) ---
**Author:** ![John\_DiFool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_difool/32/19543_2.png) [@John\_DiFool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_DiFool)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2017, 12:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-these-insects-i-saw-flying-around-in-pairs-in-south-carolina-two-weeks-ago/795689/3 "2017-09-07T00:57:04Z")
It’s a reproductive strategy called mate guarding. While he is attached there (and he is usually pulled along by the slightly bigger female), no other male can mate with her. And I’ll just note that years ago we would get them here [**burpo** is a neighbor of mine, imagine that] in those kinds of swarms. I drove through them Monday returning from a trip, coated my windshield something awful. Arrive here-and they are nowhere to be found. Unless the local government has been spraying for them, did global warming cause their range to drift north? ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2017, 1:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-these-insects-i-saw-flying-around-in-pairs-in-south-carolina-two-weeks-ago/795689/4 "2017-09-07T01:24:47Z")
While visiting Florida, a yahoo explained to me that love bugs are escapees from the university, where they were trying to blah blah blah, science gone mad. ---
**Author:** ![burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/burpo_the_wonder_mutt/32/365_2.png) [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/burpo_the_wonder_mutt)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2017, 2:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-these-insects-i-saw-flying-around-in-pairs-in-south-carolina-two-weeks-ago/795689/5 "2017-09-07T02:04:55Z")
> [@John\_DiFool](#): > > It’s a reproductive strategy called mate guarding. While he is attached there (and he is usually pulled along by the slightly bigger female), no other male can mate with her. > > And I’ll just note that years ago we would get them here [**burpo** is a neighbor of mine, imagine that] in those kinds of swarms. I drove through them Monday returning from a trip, coated my windshield something awful. Arrive here-and they are nowhere to be found. Unless the local government has been spraying for them, did global warming cause their range to drift north? Hey, neighbor! Now that you mention it, where did the clouds of those durn bugs go? We lived in Yulee from '03-'09 and you’d have to brush off the grille of your car, they were so thick (and keep your mouth closed, or you’d get a bug bon bon). Now we’re back in the area and the critters have taken a hike. Global warming seems a good guess. Jax area has a lot of highway (and housing) construction going on; maybe that contributes? The billion little lizards I keep seeing all over prolly ate 'em all. 😉 ETA: My wife just relayed the mutant university experiment story to me; they were bred to eat the mosquitoes. :dubious: I still love her, though. 1645% humidity would get to you, too. ETA 2: They were not as far south as Ocala in 1999. Make of that what you will. ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2017, 10:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-these-insects-i-saw-flying-around-in-pairs-in-south-carolina-two-weeks-ago/795689/6 "2017-09-07T10:11:18Z")
[A recent conversation about them](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=824407). ---
**Author:** ![Sam\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Sam\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sam_Stone)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2017, 6:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-these-insects-i-saw-flying-around-in-pairs-in-south-carolina-two-weeks-ago/795689/7 "2017-09-07T18:52:43Z")
Dragonflies also fly around in mated pairs, but it does sound like your description is more oike lovebugs. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2017, 4:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-these-insects-i-saw-flying-around-in-pairs-in-south-carolina-two-weeks-ago/795689/8 "2017-09-08T16:40:42Z")
> [@John\_DiFool](#): > > And I’ll just note that years ago we would get them here [**burpo** is a neighbor of mine, imagine that] in those kinds of swarms. I drove through them Monday returning from a trip, coated my windshield something awful. Arrive here-and they are nowhere to be found. Unless the local government has been spraying for them, did global warming cause their range to drift north? No. Their migrations are heavily dependent on prevailing winds, since they’re such lazy fliers. More importantly, their populations (and ranges) rise after wet summers, because the eggs do best in moist soil. Because we’ve had such a rainy summer this will be a banner year for them.