OK, you asked for it, so here is the scoop! "Plecia Nearctica", commonly known as the "Love Bug" is not really a buy at all - it is a fly (Diptera). According to the experts, the theory that the lovebugs were created in a lab is perhaps one of the most believable urban myths going. They apparently turned up in Texas around the turn of the last century and have since migrated into Florida, first appearing in the Panhandle about 35 years ago. They seem to appear in both the spring and the fall, lasting about three or four weeks before the die off. According to Dr. John Capinera, Professor of entomology at the Univ. of Florida, "they have a longer gestation period than other insects and the eggs laid in April don't hatch till August." The female lays about 200 - 300 eggs at once, but fortunately the lovebugs life span is only about a week. The worst part is that the decaying lovebugs release a mild acid that can etch paint surfaces, especially when left to interact with any bacteria on the surface. So, make sure you wash any surfaces off that have dead bugs on them. The link to Cabbage Key in all this is that when I visited there about a year ago on my 22' Cobia, when we returned to the dock after having enjoyed lunch on the island, there were literally "millions" of these things flying around. It was like something out of the Twilight Zone, by the time we got untied and away from the dock we must have had about a thousand dead ones on the boat. Not a pretty sight! Jim Alexander, Realtor Vista 43 Port Charlotte, FL