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Small Milkweed Bug - Lygaeus kalmii

With Tuesday’s insect still fresh on our minds (Happy Valentine’s Day), I’m following it up with another black and red insect that has a similar appearance that one. The two are often confused for one another at first glance, but they have their differences in patterning and behavior once you get close enough. Common Firebugs have those large spots on their reduced wings, while today’s subject - the Small Milkweed Bug - has a red “x” pattern with black-colored bordering. Look for little simple eyes on the head of the Small Milkweed Bug too! These are called ocelli, and many other orders of insects have these too! These little ocelli are a big help for insects that need to get around by flying (since they help with the intake of information). However, just because Red Bugs lack ocelli, doesn’t mean they won’t fly, but some of them unfortunately wound up with reduced wings. Today’s showcase however, is a Seed Bug and can make great use of its wings to scale milkweed stalks and make a sudden escape if it’s been found tucked behind a seed pod. Though they may look similar to the Common Firebug (among others), their nesting and feeding habits have some differences. 

You may see aggregations of the Small Milkweed Bug in an area dominated by flowers or scrounging around on the milkweed stalks, but the numbers will be much less. You’re more than likely to only find one or two, or maybe a mating pair? As they roam around the milkweed stalk, they search for the most valuable food sources they can: flowers and seeds! Some of the individuals in these photos have struck liquid gold! These milkweed flowers are ripe for the drinking, and using their straw-like rostrum, taking a sip can be done in a snap! Yeah they really like to get in there. While milkweed is the best choice here, they can drink from other flowers if they need to, especially if other insects swoop in a take all the nectar before they can. The milkweed pods are the next best target for all the seeds they house, making them valuable for eat and to lay eggs on. Depending on how fast your milkweed grows, you may want to monitor for these insects, but you can rest assured they pose little harm to your milkweed plants. They’ll share the territory with other milkweed dwelling insects, but it’ll be up to all of us to see if they bully other insects away from the delicious flower nectar.

Pictures were taken on July 2, 12, 21 and August 2, 2020 with a Google Pixel 4.

Firebug (aggregation) - Pyrrhocoris apterus

Valentine’s Day may have been yesterday, but we can still celebrate the day after with pictures of some delightful insects. Or perhaps, a whole army of them nestled in the sunlight and in the roots of this tree! It’s never easy to choose a red insect for such a day. Having already used the Red Milkweed Beetle and the Red Admiral to celebrate, I thought this year I would go with a very prominent and common Red Bug. Literally, for this Red Bug is indeed a Red Bug of the family Pyrrhocoridae, some of which are called stainers. Many of the insects in this family have beautiful red patterns (sometimes on the underside) highlighted with black markings. Here we find many individuals with these patterns in the different stages of their life cycle, though most are sub-adults, waiting for their final molt into winged adult. For the former, you can tell by the presence of black-colored wingbuds and a row of spots running down the abdomen of the Bug. Unfortunately things don’t really improve on the wing front (unless very lucky) into adulthood as Common Firebugs have reduced wings, compensated by a solid running speed. Though this aggregation looks intense for the afflicted tree, there is likely little danger to it as these insects feed on seeds and fruit. 

This tree is likely just a resting spot for these insects to settle in after the sun sets. There are plenty of nooks and crannies to hide in until the next day. They likely aggregate together for the safety in numbers while waiting to fully mature. After mating, most of them will likely go their separate ways to place eggs in optimal locations. Sometimes that means a warm house interior, but they’re just doing what they do, and while they can seem like pests, they aren’t dangerous at all. If you find any in your home or garden, I don’t recommend crushing them, for you see they don’t find each other by running around and bumping into one another. They communicate using scents and chemical markers in the form of pheromones to bring everyone within range to the safe haven. Squishing them may only release more of the pheromone and invite more guests and/or suitors to the party! It may also leave a nasty stain behind too, which exemplifies the “stainer” name. The insects will need to be relocated and the area rinsed of pheromones if you don’t want them coming back. Gardeners may consider using the hose to get rid of them, but I think these insects are alright and it’s both interesting and amazing to see such a level of aggregation (and teamwork to some extend) in insects outside of those in a colony or a gregarious swarm.

Hope you all had a wonderful Valentine’s Day!

Pictures were taken on August 27, 2020 with a Google Pixel 4. These insects can also be seen in 2 videosuploaded earlier.