12 July 2024
Final week Charity Kheshgi and I discovered bugs mating on milkweed that I had by no means seen earlier than.
The crimson milkweed beetle (Tetraopes tetrophthalmus) is certainly one of 14-17 species of longhorn milkweed beetles in U.S. and Canada. They’re host-specific on frequent milkweed (Asclepias syriaca). The females are even consuming whereas mating.
Although they eat the plant they don’t like getting caught in milkweed sap so that they restrict their publicity to it by purposely draining the veins.
(video of a crimson milkweed beetle reducing milkweed vein to scale back/cease latex stress earlier than feeding past the minimize, embedded from Wikimedia Commons)
Different anticipated milkweed bugs haven’t made an look but. I’ve seen neither giant nor small milkweed bugs. I often discover them on milkweed pods however the vegetation are solely within the leaf progress and flowering stage proper now.
In the meantime, associates who develop milkweed to draw monarch butterflies are involved that they haven’t seen any monarchs but. Was final week too early? Steve Gosser photographed this one in July 2014.
Have you ever seen monarch butterflies this month in southwestern PA?
In that case, depart a remark to let me know.
