GAINESVILLE, FL (WFLA News) -- May in Florida means love bugs on the grille of your car, SUV or pickup... but they haven't been like this in a while.
Some drivers say this is the worst infestation they've seen in 20 years. Dr. Norm Leppla of the University of Florida is an expert on love bugs. He says that in Central Florida, particularly east of Orlando, love bugs are more abundant than they've been in several years.
Leppla says this year's mild, wet winter helped love bug larvae survive through the winter to make it to May.
But no matter how bad this year's swarm turns out to be, Leppla says it's nothing like the outbreaks Florida used to see in the 1970's, when the affectionately invasive pest made its way down the Florida peninsula. He says nature adjusted to bring the love bug population under control, though it's not clear how.
"They were... WAY worse than anyone's seen recently... They've come into balance somehow... and now, in Central Florida, they're out of balance again.