[at-l] Celebrations

[Bluetrail at aol.com (Bluetrail@aol.com)]

Here in central Florida it's almost time for the annual Love Bug festival.  No, not the VW kind of love bug.  These are little insects about the size of medium-sized mosquitos that gather twice a year, spring & fall, to mate.  For some unknown reason, they particularly like to conjugate (no, I didn't mean congregate) anywhere there's a road or highway.  You can literally blacken your windshield on an hour-long drive.  Whatever juices exist in these tiny critters are particularly hard on car paint; once dried, their dead bodies are practically hot glued to your car.  Some people celebrate the event by greasing up the front of their cars to make it easier to get their smushed bodies off the paint.  Others cover the grill with car "nose bras."

They don't hum, they don't bite, they don't sting.  Word has it they eat decaying plant material.

Despite hating having to scrub them off my minivan, I envy them as they fly through the air in mated bliss.  I guess if you have to go, it might be a pretty good way.

Joan
bluetrail@aol.com