It’s August and Love is in the Air — And We Want it Gone
Statesboro has always been famous for the gnats. I mean, we even have a restaurant named after the annoying little bugs. They’re everywhere and with the humidity that Statesboro is also known for, they’re always sticking to our sweaty student bodies. Well this year, we got a break from the lovely pests, but as most of us learned in environmental biology, when one species leaves that just makes room for another. In this case it was *que dramatic music* the love bugs.
Being originally from Florida, love bugs were these annoying little creatures that I had all but forgot about. They used to come about every other year every summer in swarms. I remember them covering my mom’s screen door there were so many. Living in Warner Robins, Georgia for the past 6 years, I have not seen a single one but I was brought back to reality this May when I returned to Statesboro and they were everywhere. This is my third year at Georgia Southern and never have I seen a single one until recently. Lucky for us, their mating season happens right between the return of classes, between May and September. During this time, the orange and black critters fly around attached to each other (male and female). Once mating season is over they either die or return to the hell in which they emerged from, I am not exactly sure. But the worst part about these bugs is they don’t even actually do anything. They don’t bite, they don’t sting. They do nothing but fly around in slow motion and harass people and get stuck on car grills. Because they are acidic they also have very few natural predators. Not even the animal kingdom wants anything to do with them. Overall, they just a nuisance that I think we can all agree that we want gone. From Georgia Southern students to the gnats of Statesboro: sorry we underappreciated you. We have learned our lesson and welcome you back with open arms.