[News Today] Lovebugs swarming Korea

[LEAD]
Lovebugs are swarming the capital region, leaving local governments struggling with pest control. Experts warn that if climate change continues, the insects could spread across the entire Korean Peninsula within 50 years.

[REPORT]
Lovebugs have swarmed this mountain peak for more than a week.

With complaints pouring in, not only local governments but even the environment ministry have joined in pest control efforts.

Workers wield nets and sweep them up with brooms, but the bugs keep coming.

Known to be resistant to pesticides, they’re hard to control chemically, and no clear natural predator has been found yet.

It seems time is the only solution available at the moment.

Park Seon-jae/ Nat'l Institute of Biological Resources
The number tends to decrease about a week or 10 days after an explosive growth. They will likely be gone by mid-July.

Lovebugs normally live in subtropical climates.

Genetic analysis suggests they moved from southern China to the Shandong Peninsula, then entered Korea through trade.

First spotted in Incheon in 2015, the bugs have survived due to climate change and have been swarming the capital region around this time every year since 2022.

Prof. Shin Seung-gwan/ Seoul Nat'l University
Since they're drawn to light, they often move into cities. Their larvae don't die in winter because the cities tend to form thermal islands.

A recent study projected that if temperatures keep rising due to climate change, lovebugs could spread across the entire Korean Peninsula by 2070.

With climate change worsening, research and pest control plans to control the insects' numbers are urgently needed.

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