It has been predicted that the Redbacked Velvet Ant (Lovebug) will mostly disappear naturally by next week.
On July 4, the National Institute of Forest Science announced that, according to a predictive model analyzing the occurrence patterns of the Lovebug, most individuals are expected to naturally disappear around 7 to 10 days from now.
The Forest Insect and Disease Research Division at the National Institute of Forest Science predicted the start, peak, and end of Lovebug activity by combining observation records registered on the citizen science platform iNaturalist with meteorological data.
The results showed that the initial occurrence of the Lovebug this year was about one week later than last year, and accordingly, the end of their activity is also expected to be delayed. In addition, as observation records have been confirmed in the southern and central regions of Gyeonggi Province, it appears that their distribution will expand in the future.
However, as of July 1, considering that 86% of the total activity has already occurred, the National Institute of Forest Science explained that there is a high likelihood that most Lovebug individuals will naturally disappear around 7 to 10 days from now.
The Lovebug is a species of saprophagous fly mainly observed in East Asian regions such as Japan, China, and Taiwan. The adult insects are known to help with pollen transfer mainly during June and July.
They do not harm humans or crops. However, due to their tendency to gather toward light and the rapid increase in their population density, they can cause temporary inconvenience when their numbers surge.
This year, the Lovebug population has surged, especially in the Seoul metropolitan area, leading to increasing complaints about inconvenience. In fact, by last month, the number of Lovebug control requests (civil complaints) received by the Seoul Metropolitan Government reportedly approached 4,700 cases.
Han Hyerim, head of the Forest Insect and Disease Research Division at the National Institute of Forest Science, said, "We will do our utmost to develop effective response measures for the Lovebug in cooperation with relevant ministries."
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