Overview

• On July 4 the Environment Ministry dispatched 37 personnel to Mount Gyeyang with water sprayers, blowers, insect nets and three additional light-based traps to remove lovebug swarms.
• Initial field trials of four light traps developed by the National Institute of Biological Resources demonstrated high capture rates, prompting wider deployment.
• A revamped interagency framework now covers Seoul, Incheon and Gyeonggi Province under a 24-hour task force guided by entomologists and ecologists.
• Authorities are advancing legal reforms to classify lovebugs as managed species, which will unlock funding and enable faster, coordinated responses.
• Scientists are studying fungal insecticides as a long-term solution and observing increased predation by birds and arachnids, with seasonal decline expected by mid-July.