As lovebugs (Pseudomyrmex) are appearing in large numbers in urban areas during the summer, inconveniences for citizens are growing, and there are reports of birds eating lovebugs.
Recently, posts have been shared on X (formerly Twitter) claiming that sparrows and magpies are seen devouring lovebugs.
Internet users reported, 'Sparrows are eating lovebugs stuck to the shop windows,' and 'There were many lovebugs on the way to Incheon Airport, and a few magpies were using them like a free food stand.'
There were also posts stating, 'Magpies around the Han River were automatically hunting with their mouths open,' 'Now pigeons have started to eat them too,' 'For the birds, it looks like an all-you-can-eat buffet,' and 'I was actually glad to see pigeons for the first time while watching lovebug eating.'
Lovebugs are known to have acidic body fluids, making them unpalatable to typical predators like birds or frogs. However, sparrows and magpies have been shown to consume lovebugs.
Earlier, Park Seon-jae, a researcher at the National Institute of Biological Resources, explained on SBS Radio's 'Kim Tae-hyun's Political Show' on 1st that, 'When new organisms are introduced from abroad, it takes time for existing organisms to recognize them as prey and start eating them.' He noted, 'Initially, without natural predators, their population tends to explode, but over time, it often regulates itself naturally.'
In response to the question 'When will the lovebugs disappear?', he answered, 'After analyzing several years' worth of occurrence data, I believe that most will disappear around mid-July.' Researcher Park also stated, 'Lovebug appearances typically begin around mid-June and tend to decrease as the rainy season subsides after about a week.'