Your lovebug doesn’t love bugs, and rodents don’t give you the warm fuzzies. There’s nothing romantic about pests crashing your Valentine’s Day dinner, but did you ever stop to wonder if pests celebrate Valentine’s Day in their own way? No? Just me? No matter - check out these interesting (sometimes gross) facts about pest love lives.
When termites find a mate, they break off their wings, indicating they are a pair.- The only role of male fire ants within their colony is to mate with the queen – talk about being a hot commodity!
- Male earwigs use their pincers to attach themselves to their female mate (so they’re just a little clingy).
- Male moths can smell a potential mate from about seven miles away – although the current record is 23 miles!
- Mosquitoes adjust their buzzing frequencies to attract a suitable mate. That's a different kind of serenade.
- During springtail courtship, females play hard-to-get: they will pretend to run away and the male gives chase.
- Certain male flies perform a dance around a female to attract her attention.
- Some insects lure mates with gifts of food (the quickest way to someone’s heart is through their stomach, right?).
- Female black widows and praying mantises consume their partner after mating - an unpleasant end for him, a nutritious (possibly candelit?) meal for her.
- Something called a kissing bug might sound cute, but they get their name from their tendency to bite sleeping humans on the face and mouth to get a blood meal - necessary for successful breeding.
The good news is, however pests may celebrate Valentine’s Day, the experts at Burgess Pest Management are here to keep the festivities away from your home. Whether you've made big romantic plans or have a date with your couch and a quart of ice cream, we hope the only thing that bites this holiday is the love bug.
