What are these bugs on my milkweed plant?
by
Melissa G
+13
I saw these bugs all over the seed pods of our milkweed plants yesterday. They're still there today. Any idea what these are and whether they're bad for the plant?
15 answers
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They're (DRUM ROLL) milkweed bugs! These insects form clusters on milkweed plants, where they eat the seeds. Milkweed bugs have few predators because they concentrate in their bodies bad tasting compounds found in the sap of milkweed plants. Entomologists like to study and work with milkweed bugs because they are easy to raise in a lab, where they can be fed pumpkin seeds. In general, the insects are harmless unless you are trying to raise milkweed. They never eat 100% of the seeds so some milkweed plants always manage to survive, germinate and continue their existence.
Walter Reeves
on Aug 19, 2012
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Thank you, Walter!
Melissa G
on Aug 19, 2012
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Walter, I plant milkweed because the Monarch butterfly cannot reproduce without it. Then those ugly bugs eat the milkweed that the monarch needs for reproduction. The milkweed is pretty nice looking until those nasty milkweed bugs take over but the plant always survives here.
Sherrie S
on Aug 21, 2012
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I don't plant milkweed exactly, but I let a lot of it grow up on its own for the butterflies. I'm not much of a weeder anyway so the monarchs give me a reason to leave the milkweeds.
Sue brigle
on Aug 21, 2012
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They're freaking me out!!!
Dora Traynor
on Nov 27, 2012
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I don't know about milkweed bugs, but most bugs (as much as 95%) are either beneficial or benign. The Golden Rule is: never kill a bug unless you know what it is AND it is causing serious damage. Everybody's got to eat something, so pick your battles wisely.
Elle
on Dec 29, 2012
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I too have a problem with these eating holes from the undersides of the leaves of my butterfly bush. Is there anything I can do to keep them away this spring?
Camilla
on Feb 03, 2013
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These are a type of assassin bug that eat aphids that get on milkweed, I believe. They are good bugs.
Jamie Wade-Matlock
on Feb 03, 2013
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I had these on tomato plants last summer. They didn't seem to do any damage to the plant or the tomatos.
Renee Norman
on Feb 05, 2013
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They look like a Box Elder Bug. I have an infestation of them in the summer. I have a Box Elder Elm in my front yard. Seemingly, they don't eat a lot of the plants, they don't bother anything. They don't bite. They're not like having cockroaches. My cat loves them when they come in the house.
Charmaine W
on Feb 10, 2013
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Those ARE assassin bugs and they're beneficial if you have aphids and other bugs that they eat.... here is a link to a page with a picture of them and a list of what it eats and what attracts it. When I still had milkweed (aka butterfly weed) they're would be masses of these on it thankfully they do good and look good!! :) http://tgcgarden.wordpress.com/2010/07/06/iding-garden-pests-in-ontario/ don't let the ontario location mess with you I live in Kentucky and have the same ones!!
Sonya Combs
on Feb 12, 2013
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The aphids are the ones to get rid of, and fast! HD has a great spray for them. Follow instructions wisely! There is a special way to spray the plant, easy, and boy does it work!
Beth
on May 30, 2014
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I don't spray the milkweed because I'm afraid it might kill the butterflies. I have many butterfly plants but the milkweed is the ONLY choice for Monarch Butterfly propogation.
Sherrie S
on Jun 07, 2014
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Milkweed bugs and monarch caterpillars eat different parts of the plant so they don't usually interfere with each other. Milkweed bugs have piercing mouthparts and suck juices from the plant. Caterpillars eat plant tissue. Anything you do to control milkweed bugs also kills the Monarch butterfly caterpillars feeding alongside them. Try picking the bugs off by hand or spraying them with neem oil when the caterpillars aren't around. Neem oil doesn't leave a toxic residue, so caterpillars that return later on won't be affected by it.Read more : http://www.ehow.com/info_8538468_milkweed-bug-killing-plants.html
Rhonda Clements
on Jun 12, 2014
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I had planned on posting pictures of these same bugs but never did. Thanks for posting. Now I know!
MARY ANN
on Jun 29, 2014
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