I used to see these insects frequently in Chennai and Bangalore (South India). I just would like to know if this is a kind of lovebug. The lovebug as mentioned in the Wikipedia page is, however, different in appearance, although they too are walking as pairs.
Why are they always walking as attached pairs? It also seems to me that the bigger one drives the motion and decides the direction. Is that true?
Answer
I believe this is a member of the family of Phyrrocoridae also called firebugs. A more detailed identification would require a more high resolution image of the head and also an image of the ventral (belly) side. However, they are certainly not lovebugs.
Edit: As PhilipC pointed out, they are probably from the genus Melamphaus.
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