'Lovebugs' are swarming Seoul as South Korea warms

Residents in and around the South Korean capital Seoul are complaining about swarms of black insects dubbed ‘lovebugs’ covering hiking trails and ambushing people, as rising temperatures due to climate change spur their spread.

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Video from hiking trails in Gyeyangsan Mountain in Incheon, west of Seoul, this week showed the black-winged bugs buzzing people and covering trees, rails and stairs.

The bugs, formally Plecia longiforceps, have been dubbed ‘lovebugs’ because female and male bugs fly attach to each other while mating.

Originally from warm climates, the bugs' numbers during summer in the wider Seoul metropolitan area have surged in recent years partly due to rising temperatures, leading to a skyrocketing number of complaints.

The City of Seoul said some 9,296 complaints about ‘lovebugs’ were received last year, compared to 4,418 in 2023.