Removing lightbug from inventory sometimes sends its followers flying away

So, this is sadly not gonna be as detailed as I'd like, but basically: if you have a lightbug in your inventory and some more following you, removing the captive lightbug (putting it in a chest or dropping the backpack containing it) will sometimes send the "follower" lightbugs flying off to parts unknown.

Attempts to replicate the bug reliably have, unfortunately, failed. I have tried this on land and I've tried this on water and sadly haven't identified a common factor. Sometimes, the followers will hover around the general vicinity of the spot you left them in, sometimes they'll spontaneously decide to disappear into the distance. Their destination seems to be roughly at the center of the map, so I assume they are heading towards the origin. Oddly, putting the captive lightbug back in your inventory and trying to approach the flying lightbugs seems to make them fly away faster.

Also, I'm guessing whatever is causing this is also causing them to fly towards the origin after going through a wormhole?