According to Alex Mangini, entomologist with the U.S. Department of Agriculture, lovebugs are actually members of the order Diptera, the true flies. They have two generations - one in Spring and one in Fall. The Spring invasion is minor compared to the Fall invasion - at least here in the Cenla area.
When I was young, the old folks used to say the bugs arrived three weeks before the first cool front. This year, the bugs arrived early, the third week of August. Sure enough, we've had an early and prolonged spell of cooler-than-normal weather here in central Louisiana. Today's high was only 78 degrees!
But there's another old tale about these sensual insects. It's that when the bugs stop mating, prime fall fishing begins. This could be because no fish eat these bugs. So when they leave, the bluegill start surface feeding again - making up for lost time! That's one theory. Another is that the bugs leave when the soil temperature reaches a certain point. Love bugs - and their larvae - originate from moist, warm soil. So when the bugs leave, the water temperature is also cool enough for bass and crappie to begin their fall feeding frenzy.
Whichever theory you believe, it seems there's a correlation between the time the bugs disappear and the start of the best fall fishing. I just hope the bugs don't stay around too much longer!
