These Lovebugs Have Attachment Issues
You know those couples that do everything together? Lovebugs, also known as honeymoon flies, can spend anywhere from a half-hour to a couple of days attached to each other. As the female drags or carries the male from flower to flower, piggyback style, they pollinate cherries, apples and pears.
TRANSCRIPT
You know those couples that do everything together? These are lovebugs … also known as honeymoon flies.
There are 700 species of lovebugs, and when you find one lovebug, you’ll probably find a lot more.
Flying in a swarm.
Or maybe even hanging around your house.
Their love story starts in a massive crowd. A raucous singles mixer.
They’re old friends. They grow up together as maggots underground. Then they take flight all at once, in what’s called synchronous emergence.
In some places this happens in spring, which is why they’re also known as march flies.
Males and females look pretty different. He has holoptic eyes. See how they meet at the top of his head?
Hers are smaller, and she has the longer head.
His holoptic eyes give him nearly 360-degree vision, which helps him find a female inside the swarm.
But maybe a flower is a less chaotic place to look for her … if he can get through the competition.
And we’ve got a winner!
She carries him around piggyback style. Hang on, buddy.
There’s no guarantee he won’t be replaced by another male.
The reigning champ curls his backside towards hers, and they hook onto each other.
Then, he flips his body over and around.
Wait, who’s driving?
Through this safe connection, he delivers his genetic material.
The longer he stays attached to her, the longer he keeps her from mating with others. This increases his chances of passing on his genes.
Depending on the species, the “honeymoon” can last a half-hour or a couple of days.
Days full of romance and flowers.
As they drink sweet nectar, they move tons of pollen around, which helps plants reproduce.
Together or apart, honeymoon flies are great pollinators.
They pollinate plants we love to look at, like this yarrow.
Plants we love to eat, like cherries, apples and pears.
And even plants we hate, like this poison oak. Its flowers are just the right size for these tiny flies. Their oily leaves, which give us a rash, don’t hurt them at all. In fact, they make a great marriage bed.
A couple that pollinates together, sticks together.
