Milkweed Bugs

Large Milkweed Bugs

A few days ago Cindy and I were out in the butterfly garden in the front yard, when we saw some strange-looking red and black bugs clustered on one of the Asclepia plants.  The bugs all had red bodies with oblong black markings on both head and tail ends and a black band around the middle.  Neither of us had ever seen anything like them before.

A little research revealed that they are Large Milkweed Bugs, Oncopeltus fasciatus.  Who knew there was such a thing?  We didn't.

Asclepia

The bugs love Asclepia, which is, of course, milkweed, and feed on the seed pods.  Because the milkweed sap contains a toxic substance called cardiac glycosides, the bugs themselves become toxic when they ingest the sap, making them unattractive to predators.

Although we've had several Monarch butterflies hanging out in the butterfly garden this summer, we've seen very few Monarch caterpillars this year.  Cindy has been reluctant to spray the Aphids off the plants because she doesn't want to wash off any Monarch eggs, but the plants aren't looking very good because of the honeydew secreted by the Aphids.  The Lady Bugs are eating the Aphids, but we're concerned that they may be eating Monarch eggs, too.

It's not easy being a caterpillar codependent.