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No, they aren't. They accidentally were brought on a cargo ship from Central America.

Urban legend holds that lovebugs are synthetic - the result of a University of Florida genetics experiment gone wrong.

Speculation about the lovebug abounds. This is partly due to the fact that this insect is an unseen beneficial (lives and feeds in the thatch of grasses) for most of the year. As a result, most scientists are not as concerned with the details of this insect's life cycle, Biology and other facets of its existence as they are with more serious pests. For example, while various fungi are known or suspected of being natural controls for this species

, time and funding do not allow for more study, except as a side interest.

Research of L. L. Buschman showed that migration explained the introduction of the lovebug into Florida and other southeastern states, contrary to the urban myth that the University of Floridacreated them by manipulating DNA to control mosquito populations.

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12y ago

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