“That Gunk On Your Car” Explained By University of Florida Author

September 25, 1996

GAINESVILLE —You probably never wondered much about those tiny insects that violently end their lives on the front windshield of the family car.

You also probably never examined those splats left behind or used a knife to scrape off and study the different species found clinging to the front bumper after a long road trip.

Mark Hostetler has. As a University of Florida researcher and author of “That Gunk on Your Car,” Hostetler simplifies the complex world of insects and the natural environment for those outside the scientific community by looking at the goo bugs leave behind on automobiles. Anyone who has witnessed the brutal splattering of little creatures right before their eyes, just inches away, can identify with Hostetler’s book.

This guide to insects of the United States shows how to identify that “gunk” on the car by using colorful illustrations to help match which bugs go with what splat. The book also provides interesting facts about each insect and suggests do-it-yourself experiments with bugs of all kinds. For those with curious minds and strong stomachs, some of Hostetler’s data collection techniques can also be attempted.

“Understanding is half the fun of science,” said Hostetler, a doctoral candidate in UF’s zoology department. “If you can explain some of the things around you rather than just be a passive observer, you’ll begin to have a better appreciation for the natural environment.”

Explaining those annoying lovebugs traveling in twosomes throughout the Gulf Coast states may be the book’s most useful tool this time of year. According to the lovebug chapter, there are actually two species of this fly, and one usually avoids the highways.

The other ends up covering the hoods and windshields of cars with its gunky residue that eats away at the paint. This lovebug species is thought to have migrated from Louisiana or possibly Central America and lives three to six days, spending most of that time mating.

The lovebugs hover around the roadways in September and May, attracted to the combination of ultraviolet light and exhaust fumes. Chemicals released by the fumes mimic the same chemicals released by decaying organic matter, which is where lovebugs lay their eggs. According to Hostetler’s guide, the fumes attract the lovebugs when the incidence of UV light is high, usually between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m.

The best way to wash off the creamy white or yellow remains of these bothersome bugs is to use good old fashioned elbow grease, Hostetler said.

“The most effective way to get the lovebugs off the car is to use soapy water and a sponge with textures for scrubbing,” Hostetler suggests. “If you leave the gunk on your car for longer than a couple days, it will leave an imprint on the paint.”

Although there is no way to avoid lovebugs in September and May when driving in the Southeast, he said a good wax job and regular car-washes can reduce paint damage.

But lovebugs aren’t the only insects to identify on your car or learn about in Hostetler’s self-published book. He lists more than 20 different groups of insects with their natural life histories, facts and fun things to do. Perhaps the most useful tool is the illustrated depiction of the “splat” each insect leaves behind. For instance, the book says the flying ant’s splat is “usually a watery, small white smear about 8-15 mm in length.”

Such details have to come from research. One way Hostetler collected data for the book was by spending a great deal of time at the Greyhound bus station in Gainesville. To get an idea of what types of splats are made by different insects, he collected specimens from the huge surface areas of buses that traveled throughout the state.

To gather additional information from other regions of the United States, Hostetler drove 12,000 miles cross-country with a netted contraption strapped to the top of his car. This apparatus caught the insects once they ricocheted off the windshield. After a splat, Hostetler would stop the car and identify the insect in order to match it to the splat.

Hostetler’s fascination and appreciation for insects and the natural environment was inherited from his grandfather, an entomologist and biology teacher for more than 35 years. Hostetler says the best way to interest people in nature and in animals is to give them something they deal with every day and to add a humorous twist.

“Everyone can be a scientist,” Hostetler said. “All you need is an inquisitive mind.”