# love bugs?



## josh raysin (Nov 28, 2005)

anyone know if it would be safe to feed love bugs (Plecia nearctica) to frogs. i have never seen anything eat them which leads me to believe they are toxic or something. anyway i live in FL and they are everywhere now.


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## glowfrog (May 3, 2006)

I would guess that its not a good idea. Nothing eats them that I know of naturally, plus have you seen what they do to the paint on your car? They must be made of strong acid or something.
At the very least they must taste very bad. Not that I've personally eaten any. :shock: 

~Steph


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## josh raysin (Nov 28, 2005)

on one web it stated "birds and other animals are natural predators" but like you said, i have never seen a bird go after one, but that might be because they are already stuffed with them! and since you mentioned it, another stated thy were not very acidic but in breakdown (after a few days) bacteria makes the "splat" more acidic and can damage paint.
i also learned they were not introduced to FL but rather migrated into fl in the 50's (i think it was) from texas.


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## Frogtofall (Feb 16, 2006)

From what I remember, any beetle-like insect that is black is supposed to taste horrible to amphibians. I've not tried Love Bugs, but I have tried a few others with bad results.


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## Jesse (Sep 19, 2005)

*...*

My Cane Toads eat them...

Jesse


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## npaull (May 8, 2005)

But then, is there anything cane toads DON'T eat?


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## Jesse (Sep 19, 2005)

*True*

very true, I am also pretty sure I have seen anoles eating them...

Jesse


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## back2eight (Dec 19, 2005)

With as many as there are everywhere in love bug season, there is no way the natural frogs and such can eat all of them. They are a PLAGUE!


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