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These days, there are reports from viewers saying that bugs that look like this have appeared and are suffering.

They are called love bugs because male and female couples stick together, but they are not very well loved.



Reporter Shin Yong-shik covered what this bug really is and why it is so prevalent.



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Lee Hye-sun, who has been living in Eunpyeong-gu, Seoul for 2 years.



She's been afraid to open her windows lately.



Because it is the first swarm of insects to gather.



[Lee Hye-sun/Eunpyeong-gu, Seoul: Please take a quick picture and close it.]



These bugs keep flying even after they are removed, swarms of bugs have appeared all over the neighborhood, and through the Internet community, I found out that there are not only one or two neighbors suffering the same damage.



[Lee Hye-sun / Eunpyeong-gu, Seoul: There are a lot of posts from people who live nearby.

Insects that have not been seen, and insects that look like a combination of flies and ants, continue to appear.

A lot of it is attached to the window sill, a lot of it is attached to a car, and a lot of it is seen on the street...

.]



There were also complaints from the ward office to get rid of this bug.



[Eunpyeong-gu Office Official: Your department seems to be paralyzed because of the job now.

Due to work paralysis, quarantine...

.]



Not only in Eunpyeong-gu, Seoul, but also in Deokyang-gu, Goyang-si, Gyeonggi-do.



Enlarging an image


What the hell is this bug, experts describe as a 'hair fly', a type of fly.



It lives as a caterpillar in mountainous areas and evolves into an adult when the temperature and humidity rises like in the summer and rainy season.



[Lee Kang-woon / Director of Holocene Ecological Conservation Research Institute: The survival period is about 3 to 5 days.

It's like we're in love because we're always together in a short period of time...

.]



Vulnerable to dry weather and prone to extinction, this year's breeding season is June, when humidity increases and the population is not estimated to have declined.



However, contrary to concerns, it does not cause any significant harm to humans.



After mating, they lay all eggs in the ground, not in private houses, and after becoming larvae, they act as an ecosystem cleaner by decomposing incorruptible waste instead.



[Lee Kang-woon/Director of Holocene Ecological Conservation Research Institute: The role of decomposers is indescribably important in the ecosystem, but they are playing such roles, so even if the shape is a bit disgusting, please think of it in an ecological sense and look at it prettily.]



Local governments are residents As complaints continue, we plan to regularly conduct quarantine for the time being.



(Video editing: Yoon Tae-ho, VJ: Roh Jae-min, screen provided by Eunpyeong-gu Office)