No love for the lovebug as swarms infest all of Seoul

Social Affairs

Published: 19 Jun. 2024, 19:07 Updated: 19 Jun. 2024, 19:12

No love for the lovebug as swarms infest all of Seoul

From left: A lovebug sits on a wooden fence at Bongsan Mountain in Eunpyeong District, Seoul, on Monday. Flies, including lovebugs, are captured on sticky traps wrapped around tree trunks. [JOONGANG ILBO]

An outbreak of lovebugs, a species of march fly, is rapidly spreading across Seoul, much to the dismay and disgust of the city's residents.

On Monday at 5 p.m., massive swarms of the insect — bigger than mayflys and smaller than flies — unpleasantly welcomed climbers at the entrance of Bongsan Mountain in Eunpyeong District.

Many were flying in pairs with their tails stuck together, as mating lovebugs do, while others climbed wooden fences. Hikers waved their arms to cut through the dense swarms.

In 2022, numerous complaints were filed about lovebugs in northern Seoul and Gyeonggi’s Goyang.

This year, however, a localized outbreak in Eunpyeong District has metastasized throughout Seoul, with thousands of complaints filed in just half a month.

“The complaints regarding lovebugs, which started this June, have surpassed 1,200 as of Monday,” an official from the Seoul Metropolitan Government said.

A photo of oriental mayflies in a subway train along the Gyeongui-Jungang Line was shared on X, formerly known as Twitter, last month. [SCREEN CAPTURE]

Not long after photos of swarms of oriental mayflies infesting subway trains shocked the nation, lovebugs now appear everywhere in the capital city — in the mountains, on streets and even in apartments.

The public is very unhappy about this.

“I had never seen a lovebug until recently, and now they are everywhere. It’s uncomfortable having to swat them away while walking, and finding one in my house last night was shocking,” said a 35-year-old resident named Song from Yeongdeungpo District near the Han River.

Lovebugs are not harmful, but they can be a nuisance as they stick to clothing and vehicles.

Lovebugs, so named because pairs remain joined for several days during and after mating, began spreading rapidly across the nation in 2022 and continue to grow in number.

Last summer, 5,600 complaints were filed about lovebugs, a 27 percent increase from 4,418 complaints in 2022.

In response to the complaints, the Eunpyeong District Office tried to reduce the lovebug population by spraying pesticides on Bongsan Mountain following the 2020 outbreak. However, to adopt an eco-friendlier approach, they now use sticky traps.

Sticky traps are wrapped around tree trunks along mountain trails on Bongsan Mountain. The traps capture flies, including lovebugs, although non-target insects like ladybugs also get stuck.

This organic approach complies with the Seoul city government’s directive to avoid ecologically disruptive chemical pest control in mountains and rivers.

A climber captured a swarm of lovebugs at Buckhansan Mountain on May 30. [SCREEN CAPTURE]

While further observation is needed to fully understand the extent of the outbreak, Shin Seung-gwan, a professor from Seoul National University’s School of Biological Sciences, believes that lovebugs have already spread throughout Seoul and parts of Gyeonggi, as they can quickly breed in any littered area.

Shin also believes they spread to other districts by hitching rides on cars or subway trains.

Experts think climate change has contributed to the lovebug outbreak.

Insects thrive in high temperatures and humidity, they say, and the unusually early onset of scorching weather this year has caused lovebugs to appear earlier than last year..

Lovebugs were first observed on June 2 this year, 13 days earlier than last year’s first sighting on June 15, according to the National Institute of Biological Resources.

The Institute is currently investigating the lovebug’s genetics, which might explain the sudden upsurge.

“Indigenous insects would have a history of outbreaks, but since the lovebug does not, we are exploring the possibility that it is an alien species,” the Institute said.

Along with lovebugs, oriental mayflies — often called Tinkerbells in Korea — are also causing trouble, with outbreaks occurring for three consecutive years.

In 2022, only Namyangju reported mayflies, but last year, the outbreak spread to the eastern districts surrounding the Han River, including Seongdong District, Gwangjin District and Songpa District.

Seoul has received 299 complaints about oriental mayflies so far this year.

BY JEONG EUN-HYE, WOO JI-WON [woo.jiwon@joongang.co.kr]