Large Milkweed Bug - Spilostethus sp.
Family Lygaeidae
This page contains pictures and information about Large Milkweed Bugs that we found in the Brisbane area, Queensland, Australia.
- Length 15mm
- The Large Milkweed Bugs are red in colour, with black pattern. Sure this is the warning colour pattern to their predators. Their antennae and legs are black in colour.
- We found two red bugs on the Milkweed plant. This Large Milkweed bugs, with black patterns on orange colour, larger in size. The other, we call them Small Milkweed Bugs, with simpler patterns on wings and thorax, little bit smaller in size. They are not female and male because we saw two bugs with same colour pattern mating. However, they just stay together peacefully sucking the milk from the Milkweed plants.
The bugs is feeding on the Milkweed seed. Notice its sucking mouths (stylets) is inserted into the seed and sucking the juice.
The red and black patterns on their back is a warning to the would-be predators that they are toxic. All insects we found feeding on Milkweed plants have some sort of warning patterns. Those insects include the Wanderer Butterflies and the Milkweed Aphids. The second picture show the mating pair. The female and male look no different.
However, the patterns on their back can be vary quite a bit in different individual.
