Love bugs include more species than most other micro-creatures in the world. Some estimates put the total number of species of love bugs as high as 8 million but a figure of 10 is more widely accepted. The largest taxonomic family is thought to be that of the two-faced love bug however, recently the kissing love bug has claimed this title.

Love bugs are creatures of prey and are considered serious pests.They travel in pairs and lay their larvae in warm areas in their environment - usually a sound card or graphics card. This can result, for better or worse, in the warping of sound and images. Famous examples include R. Kelly’s Trapped in a Closet rap opera and Whitney Houston’s I Will Always Love You.

The love bugs travel in pairs. One bug follows the other. They are attracted by the heart in the middle of the screen. If they get sucked in by the heart, they are repelled by it a few seconds later. This was an exploration in object-oriented programming in which students were asked to create a micro-creature with behaviours to be displayed under a petri dish.