#false milkweed bug

[onenicebugperday]

@oakstar519 submitted: Found this guy in late October in [removed]. I think it's Lygaeus turcicus, but I’m not certain– any insight?

(also if location could be removed that’d be great, if not also fine)

Yup that looks right to me! Love their colors :)

[admiralgiggles]

false milkweed bug

[forestfeeling]

Bugs loving the native plant area along the sidewalk!

[squire-jaybird]

[bethanythebogwitch]

Native Wildflowers collection

Native wildflowers from my previous job. All pics by me. Not an exhaustive list. Split into multiple posts due to the image limit.

Starting off with everyone's (read: monarch butterflies') favorite: milkweed. Common milkweed is on the left. I think what we called common milkweed was actually 2 closely-related species. On the right is swam milkweed, which likes wetter soil. Butterfly weed in the bottom is a milkweed, but its sap is clear instead of white so some people don't realize that. It's also much shorter than most milkweeds.

We have 2 main gentian species. These flowers don't open all the way and only larger insects like bees can force their way in. These bees then seek out gentians as an exclusive food source, making it more likely for them to pollinate the gentians. Cream gentian (left) is white and can get very tall on good years. Bottle gentian (right) is a small, low-lying plant that hides under other plants. This picture was taken early in the season so they're pretty pale. They turn bright blue when they're in bloom.

Yellow (left) and purple (right) coneflower

Mountain mint (right) and downy wood mint (left)

Wild raspberry (left) and dewberry (right). My personal nemeses when I was moving through the prairie. Thorns are not my friend

Foxglove beardtongue, which comes in a common white color (right) and a rarer purple variant (left). Below is false foxglove, which is a hemiparasite (plant that gains nutrition through parasitism and photosynthesis) that leaches off of oak roots

Bee balm, this one has a lot of ornamental cultivars

Rattlesnake master, a badass name for a weird and spiky plant

Ironweed. We have a few species and I don't know how to tell them apart

Wild quinine. In the 3 growth seasons I worked here, this one became much more common.

Prairie coreopsis (left) and tall coreopsis (right). Guess what the difference between these two is

Rosinweed (left) and cup plant (right). Two closely related species.

Maryland senna (left) and partridge pea (right). Similar (but not closely related) species that grow pods full of seeds. As they dry, the pods peel open and send the seeds flying out.

Prairie dock. These grow very tall and have huge leaves that are cool because the roots bring up water from deep underground

Ashy sunflower, a hemiparasite that kills goldenrod and tall grasses. As those two are very aggressive plants that can take over whole fields. ashy sunflower seeds are a great way to fight back against them and help increase biodiversity.

Cardinal flower. This one is endangered so its great that it's doing well and even spreading where I worked.

Common thistle. This one is unfortunately losing ground to invasive Canada thistle (not actually from Canada) and isn't very popular, but bugs love it.

Black-eyed Susan (left) and sweet black-eyed Susan (right). The latter is larger and doesn't tolerate shade as well.

Continued in part 2

[crevicedwelling]

Mad bug update!!! None of the people in the comments were right, unfortunately, the person said they were not even similar, so i made a little image to help (should've done this in the first place)

Fuzz comment: the fuzz has been referred to be similar on texture to a caterpillar or a velvet ant, just short.

Color comment: the color has been noted to vary between almost red and yellow, most commonly rust.

Wings comment: the person is unsure whether or not it had wings, but they do not remember it flying at all.

Legs and head comment: both seem to be not very noticeable.

I can’t think of a single insect that maps to every one of these points, but there’s a good amount of them that catch more than one

we’ve got orange, but under an inch and not terribly fuzzy. not super water-dependent either

squash borers are sort of fuzzy and maybe have the “eyebrows” but are always active and flying

not just a cockroach right???

another hemipteran, not super fuzzy but a baby Leptoglossus? again, no ties to water

maybe I’m missing something here but I would love to figure this one out

[sir-squibbly]

Big Bug Appreciation Post! (2/2)

Part two of my favorite local bugs. Let’s go!

30. Picture-Winged Fly

I think these guys are super neat. They don’t show up very often but they look really funky and I think that’s pretty cool.

31. Asiatic Oak Weevil

I found one of these in my bathroom. They’re absolutely tiny, but so adorable 🩶.

32. Drain Fly

Also called “moth flies.” They’re the cutest little menaces to public restrooms I’ve ever seen 🤎🤎.

33. Swamp Cicada

Surprisingly gorgeous for both a cicada and a swamp animal. There are actually multiple cicada species that are pretty, but this is just one of them. I guess the overall lesson here is to never underestimate the wonders of swamps and wetlands.

34. Luna Moth

I bet you already knew I was gonna mention these beauties at some point. Just like everywhere else they’re native to, they’re rare. On top of being rare, They're also primarily nocturnal, so if you ever see a Luna Moth in person, consider yourself lucky. I’ve seen two in person, and one even peed on my hand put of fear (I put her somewhere she’d feel safe after that). It smelled a lot like soap.

35. Bald-Faced Hornet

I love wasps, but I love black-and-white wasps even more. So I love getting to see Bald-Faced Hornets 🖤🤍.

36. Metallic Woodboring Beetle

I’ve encountered one of these. They move really weird, almost funky. Kinda like how you’d assume a super-advanced robot bug to move. Very cool. I like these guys.

37. Common Buckeye Butterfly

The butterflies look really cool, and I love all their false eyes. But if I’m being honest, the only reason I really bring these guys up is because of their caterpillars.

These little guys look so cool. And this is what I got to hold once. I love them. I hope they visit more often.

38. Monarch Butterfly

Monarchs rarely ever visit. I’ve only ever seen one in the garden, and that was either in the mid-to-late fall. But my mom got some milkweed recently, so fingers crossed!

And that’s all the bugs I have for you guys. I hope you enjoyed me talking about my thoughts on all these cool critters. 💪🔥💪💪🔥💪

[nohiketoosmall]

Today at Buffalo Creek Wildlife Preserve

After a long day of counting plants for my masters class project, and my partner doing ecological restoration work, both outdoors, both very sweaty, we decided to kick back and relax after dinner by identifying as many plants at a wildlife preserve as we could.

Before that, here is a list of the animals we saw while looking at the plants:

-Canada Geese

-Mallard ducks

-Swallow (tree?)

-Sparrow (spp. unsure)

-Redwing blackbirds

-Goldfinches

-Snowy egrets

-Great Blue heron

-Sandhill cranes

-Ladybugs* (ladybug larva?)

-Japanese beetle*

-Stinkbug (spp.?)

-Milkweed bug :)

-Monarch butterfly

-Muskrat

-Deer

-Bunnies!

-Little mouse/vole guy

Here is a list of plants (I'll start with the plants I added to iNat and then the other ones from memory); we did not attempt to identify most grasses/sedges/trees, this is mostly prairie plants and is not a complete list of plants in the region. I will include a little "?" for plants that we couldn't 100% determine or were only recommended through iNaturalist, and an asterisk for plants that are not native.

-false sunflower

-wild bergamot

-sawtooth sunflower

-purple prairie clover

-butterfly milkweed

-stiff-leaved goldenrod

-white campion*

-prairie crab apple (?)

-common milkweed

-common yarrow

-hackberry

-cottonwood

-queen anne's lace*

-oxeye daisy

-annual fleabane*

-prairie dock

-wild white indigo

-illinois bundleflower

-red clover*

-virginia mountain mint

-american senna

-rough cocklebur (*?)

-joe-pye weeds

-orange day-lily*

-ironweed

-oak (various)

-white sweetclover*

-yellow sweetclover*

-compass plant

-gray-headed coneflower/yellow coneflower

-purple coneflower

-cut-leaved teasel*

-canada thistle*

-bull thistle*

-birdsfoot trefoil*

-crown vetch*

-reed canary*

-big bluestem

-chicory*

-burdock*

-curly dock*

-cattails (may or may not be native*)

-vervain

-cup plant

-ragweed

-cut-leaved coneflower

-giant ragweed

-dogwood

-dogsbane

-tall goldenrod

-grass-leaved goldenrod

-virginia strawberry

-elm (?)

-prairie rosinweed

-orchard grass (?)*

-timothy grass (?)*

-switchgrass

-redtop

It was nice and late in the afternoon, cloudy, and there was rain forecasted but it didn't come until we were leaving (and even then it was barely drizzling). Overall we saw a lot of plants and animals! :)

[jonnysinsectcatalogue]

False Milkweed Bug - Lygaeus turcicus

This insect came from my father during one of his visits to the trails of Kleinburg. Wish I could’ve been there to see it personally, but I’m glad to have another new specie gracing the blog, even though this one seems very familiar. Like its relatives, this insect has many look-a-likes also featuring a red and black color scheme with a similar body shape and head. From earlier posts, I hope you are familiar with the look-a-likes as for this post I’ll only be talking about this insect’s fellow Seed Bugs since they are most relevant. Look at today’s specimen, it closely resembles the Small Milkweed Bug (Lygaeus kalmii - both insects are in the same genus) which can make identification at a glance misleading. By looking closely between examples of the two Seed Bugs, you’ll discover the differences that can help distinguish between them. Where ranges overlap, you’ll have a False Milkweed Bug if you can see a red “Y-shaped” marking on its head (L. kalmii lacks this), a double-triangle pattern running down its back (L. kalmii patterning is more heart-shaped) and no white spots on the darkest parts of the wings. Our specimen today has all these features, and with its red coloration and pattern, it definitely wouldn’t be confused with the Large Milkweed Bug, but what else can we use to identify this insect?

The features listed above should serve you well as the primary means to identify this Bug, but (believe it or not) we can actually use the flower its crawling on to confirm its identity too. The insect’s name says it all, believe or not! While they’re all Seed Bugs, the Small and Large Milkweed Bugs are commonly associated with milkweed as a primary source of food and many individuals can be found on or around milkweed plants. The nectar can provide nourishment and the seeds within the milkweed’s pods can be targeted later in the year, especially for the young nymphs. The False Milkweed Bug goes after a different plant for satisfy its need for seed...the plant that it currently stands on! While mistaken for its relatives by its appearance, you’ll mainly find the False Milkweed Bug lurking around or near the False Sunflower. The insect searches for seeds within this yellow flower to pierce with its rostrum and feed on, but never milkweed. It may also find a mate while it flies from flower to flower. It’s very amusing to me that a “false bug” feeds on a “false flower”, and it sounds too brilliant to be a coincidence. I have yet to truly undertake in-depth research of this insect, but the main question I have at the moment concerns whether or not the Bug is unpalatable since it doesn’t feed on milkweed? Does that mean this insect is a mimic of its milkweed eating relatives? I look forward to finding out!

Picture was taken on July 11, 2022 near Kleinburg village on a Google Pixel 4.

[curlicuecal]

sunflower seedhead and false milkweed bug ❤️ 🌻

[bone-free-as-the-wind]

Gray Hairstreak Butterfly and Small Milkweed Bug. The “face” on the butterfly’s wingtips is said to replicate its real face, but I think the toothy false face (seen more clearly in the bottom photo) is meant to scare away predators. 

(photos by S Suzuki-Martinez)

[onenicebugperday]

@sonofsimon​ submitted: I found a Milkweed Bug hanging out with some False Milkweed Bugs. 

A very large front amongst some small friends! What a party. I think those are probably small milkweed bugs rather than false milkweed bugs, though. They’re in the same genus and can be hard to tell apart since there is some variation in patterning. But small milkweed bugs generally have one large heart-shape within the red X pattern on their back whereas false milkweed bugs usually have a sort of double-stacked heart shape.

Small milkweed bug, :

False milkweed bug:

Photos by zoology123 and molanic

[celestialmacros]

Found on fleabane

Clockwise from top:

Margined calligrapher (Toxoerus marginatus)

Unknown small brown beetles

False milkweed bug (Lygaeus turcicus)

Jagged ambush bug (Phymata sp.)

May 25, 2020

Southeastern Pennsylvania

[swampgoth]

eternally pissed off that some people get bug free winters when we’ve had a god damn tiki beetle infestation since 1947

[udc793]

Lygaeus turcicus, the false milkweed bug, is a species of seed bug in the family Lygaeidae. It is found in North America. (at Arlington, Virginia) https://www.instagram.com/p/CTfelufJeAJ4x43CIcefFEVFNS2x5hLVB6UwUU0/?utm_medium=tumblr

[ryttu3k]

 Let’s get Nuzlockin’! Into the forest!

The team, as it stands:

Chickweed the Torchic | level 11 | male | Blaze | Serious, takes plenty of siestas | Scratch, Growl, Ember, Sand Attack | starter

Snowdrop the Poochyena | level 10 | female | Run Away | Lonely, loves to eat | Ice Fang, Howl, Sand Attack, Bite | found route 101

Agapanthus the Wingull | level 7 | male | Keen Eye | Modest, a little quick-tempered | Growl, Water Gun, Supersonic | found route 104

Milkweed the Silcoon | level 7 | female | Shed Skin | Lax, somewhat stubborn | Tackle, String Shot, Poison Sting, Harden | found route 102

Bristlecone the Zigzagoon | level 3 | female | Gluttony | Lonely, good endurance | Tackle, Growl | found route 103

Yeah, Bristlecone’s not staying in for long, haha.

Aggie in the lead, into the grass! First encounter is... Wurmple. Reroll! Oops, but first, Bug Catcher Lyle. He leads with a Wurmple, level 5. God I can’t wait until Aggie has a Flying move, haha. Definitely going to work on him until I get one, dangit. Next up, another Wurmple, good-o. HA, WING ATTACK. And the third Wurmple is a happy OHKO!

Stalking through the grass looking for Shroomish silhouettes, haha. Oh hey, here’s the science dude. I know, dude, I’m looking for one too! Way to go, scientist dude, hiding behind a ten-year-old... Aqua grunt sends out Poochyena, level 9. Bit high for Aggie, so in comes Chickweed! Good 2HKO.

EXP SHARE GET. THANK FUCK. Only way to level up a fuckin’ Silcoon, tbh.

Bug Catcher James sends out... Nincada! Level 8. Aggie’s shiny new Wing Attack does the trick!

Oops, Taillow encounter XD;; Man I am so fucked for Roxanne lmfao. Level 5 female, will name her Wattle. She’s Quirky and alert to sounds.

Fuck it, into town XD Or, no, rest of route 104. And ooh, who’s that~?

Anyway. Berries, watering can, Echoed Voice. Lady Cindy has a Zigzagoon, level 10. Getting into some higher levels now! Snowdrop can handle this one. jfc it hits harder than expected. Will get Chickweed in for that last hi-- Full Restore fuck you. BURN THE SHIT OUT OF IT CHICKY. lmfao BYE.

Lass Haley leads with Lotad, level 6. Much better! Aggie OHKOs it with Wing Attack. Next is Shroomish, level 8. Sob. Fuck I forgot they have Effect Spore XD;; Aggie still takes it down, and gets a Pecha berry.

Twins Gina and Mia have Lotad and Seedot, level 9s. Wing Attack and Ice Fang get them both into the reds, and another finishes them off.

(Got two confirmed IVs for Chickweed now! 31 HP and 30 sp.def. Potential atk is 23-24, rest are nothing to write home about.)

Finally, Rustboro. And Brendan! And hell yeah, False Swipe from the Pokemart and Cut from a guy next to the PMC! Exactly no one can learn False Swipe, but I’ll pop Cut on Chickweed. Who needs Growl XD

BLESS YOU ARCEUS. Skitty on route... whatever this one is. The one to the east of Rustboro. ...How has Sing managed to hit three times in a row. FOUR TIMES IN A ROW. What is her secret. I have her now and she will be named Catnip. Oh shit she has Normalise. Okay. Okay I will work with it. Mild, loves to eat, route 116. Knows Tail Whip, Tackle, Foresight, and Sing.

Aaaand now I’m fucked lmfao

Chickweed, Milkweed, Aggie, and Wattle are all weak to Rock. Aggie does have a SE move, Water Gun, but he’s a hella risky choice. Bristlecone has nothing useful, Catnip will NEVER have anything useful, thanks, Normalize. Snowdrop is not weak to Rock or Ground, and Ice Fang would be SE against Geodude, but again, nothing good against Nosepass.

Okay. I think I’m gonna overlevel the shit out of everyone. Snowdrop will go up against Geodude, and Aggie will go up against Nosepass and hope that it’s a OHKO. I want them on at LEAST level 15.

Ohhh this is gonna be fun...

Training time, I guess! HEY IT’S YOUNGSTER JOEY. With a... Zigzagoon, level 7. Oh dear. Aggie manages it, and the level 9 Machop. Consider it training for Dewford Gym, Aggie.

Bug Catcher Jose has a level 7 Wurmple, a level 7 Nincada, and a level 7 Silcoon. Wing Attack on all three!

Lass Janice has a Marill, level 10! Aww man a Marill would be GREAT... do I have anything SE against it? Whoops. Okay, let’s try Milkweek. ...wow Poison Sting does fuck all lmfao. Okay, back to Aggie. My other two strongest are Fire and Dark, not gonna work! FUCK IT HAS ROLLOUT. Aggie just manages to stay alive, gonna switch to... let’s try Catnip, fuck it. ...aaaand nope. RIP Catnip. You were cute but useless. Uh. Let’s see. Chickweed is a hard no, weak to Water AND Rock. Bristlecone is underlevelled. Aggie is weak to Rock. Milkweed did fuck all. ...Time for Snowdrop, even with NVE Ice Fang, and hope the Marill doesn’t have a Fairy move! YES. FLINCH MORE. Okay fuck it at least Bite gets STAB. AND IT’S DOWN.

Milkweed evolves into Beautifly, at least!

Hm, can I get into the tunnel from here? Whismur might help. HA yes I can! And your name is Onion, because crying. She’s level 8, Adamant, and likes to relax. Knows Pound, Echoed Voice, and Astonish. And I will return to training later, I think!

Current Team

Chickweed the Torchic | level 14 | male | Blaze | Serious, takes plenty of siestas | Scratch, Growl, Ember, Peck | starter

Agapanthus the Wingull | level 13 | male | Keen Eye | Modest, a little quick-tempered | Growl, Water Gun, Supersonic, Wing Attack | found route 104

Snowdrop the Poochyena | level 12 | female | Run Away | Lonely, loves to eat | Ice Fang, Howl, Sand Attack, Bite | found route 101

Milkweed the Beautifly | level 10 | female | Swarm | Lax, somewhat stubborn | Tackle, String Shot, Poison Sting, Gust| found route 102

Bristlecone the Zigzagoon | level 9 | female | Gluttony | Lonely, good endurance | Tackle, Growl, Tail Whip, Sand Attack | found route 103

Onion the Whismur | level 8 | female | Soundproof | Adamant, likes to relax | Pound, Echoed Voice, Astonish | found Rusturf Tunnel

Reserves

Wattle the Taillow | level 9 | female | Guts | Quirky, alert to sounds | Peck, Growl, Focus Energy, Quick Attack | found Petalburg Woods

Dead

Catnip the Skitty, found route 116, killed by Lass Janice’s Marill in route 116

Oh well XD;;