The Milkweed Bug, Oncopeltus fasciatus, is orange to orange-red and black in color, making our bug look somewhat like an escaped prison inmate.
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| Milkweed Bug, Sedgwick County, Kansas |
Milkweed Bugs feed on the Milkweed plant. This helps to make these insects safe from predators, just like the Monarch butterfly whose larvae feed on Milkweed, as the sap in the Milkweed latex contains cardiac glycosides, a type of cardenolide, which is a heart-stopping steroid.
The Milkweed Bug is a true-bug, meaning they feed not with a mouth but with their long proboscis, which pierces and sucks on the seed pods, leaves, and stems of milkweed.
http://www.missouribotanicalgarden.org/gardens-gardening/your-garden/help-for-the-home-gardener/advice-tips-resources/pests-and-problems/insects/plant-bugs/milkweed-bugs.aspx
The sex of the insect can be determined by examining the abdomen. On the male, counting down from the thorax on the ventral side (abdomen), the fourth abdominal segment bears a black band, and on the female there are two identifiable black spots.
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| Abdomen of Milkweed Bug, female on the bottom has proboscis retracted |
Females lay eggs ("oviposit" if you want the fancy zoological term), about 30 eggs a day or 2000 in a lifetime of approximately a month, depositing the eggs between the pods of the Milkweed plant. In about four days (as the temperature warms to 80 degrees Fahrenheit) the nymphs hatch. The young nymphs resemble adults, but do not have wings or reproductive organs. Nymphs grow by stages called instars, each stage lasting approximately a week.
http://www.mymonarchguide.com/2008/05/milkweed-bugs.html
Females mate 5 to 12 days after the last molt for females and males two to three days. Copulation may last up to 10 hours.
http://www.life.illinois.edu/ib/109/Insect%20rearing/milkweedbug.html
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| Mating Milkweed Bugs on Milkweed |
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