Millions of 'lovebugs' swarm hikers as South Korea warms
Video from hiking trails in Gyeyangsan Mountain in Incheon, west of Seoul, this week showed the millions of 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 attached 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.
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