ENY 3005 Family Identification

Diptera: Bibionidae

 Common name: March flies

Lovebugs, Plecia nearctica.

Identifying characteristics for the family Bibionidae include:

• Small- to medium-sized, stout-bodied nematocerans; body usually black, thorax sometimes red or yellow.
• Antennae short, arising low on face; ocelli present; males with large compound eyes.
• Tibiae with prominent apical spurs; pulvilli (pads) present beneath tarsal claws.
• Wings either clear or darkened; may have dark spot on the anterior margin; anal angle usually well developed.

• Bibionid larvae live in the soil feeding on decaying organic matter and roots.
• The lovebug, Plecia nearctica, is a tropical bibionid that expanded its range along the Gulf Coast. Collection records track its spread across Florida: it arrived at Pensacola in 1949, Gainesville in 1966, and Miami in 1975.

References:

• Page 270 in D. J. Borror and R. E. White. 1970. A Field Guide to the Insects. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Co.
• Page 332 in R. G. Bland and H. E. Jaques. 1978. How to Know the Insects, 3rd ed. Dubuque, Iowa: Wm. C. Brown Co. 409 p.
• Page 537 in D. J. Borror, C. A. Triplehorn, and N. F. Johnson. 1989. An Introduction to the Study of Insects, 6th ed. Philadelphia: Saunders College Publishing. 875 p.
• Pages 500-504 in H. V. Daly, J. T. Doyen, and A. H. Purcell III. 1998. Introduction to Insect Biology and Diversity, 2nd ed. Oxford University Press. 680 p.

Links to other web sites

• Lovebug, Plecia nearctica Hardy