Tropical milkweed beetle

[Pixie]

So far this season, my milkweeds have been free of aphids and very few of the red milkweed beetle. However I have had a new (to me) beetle only on the Curissavica. I checked a number of websites & I think it might be the Tropical milkweed beetle - it has a rounded dome shaped body, black with light orange spots. I have been squishing each one that I found tho today I found 2 mating..........They have been eating the leaves.............Does anyone have any more info?

As an aside, the syriaca has taken off this year ( I planted one small plant 2 years ago ) - it has spread in the garden, several stalks, & a couple have grown to almost 8 feet tall!!!!! I saw a female monarch laying eggs on one of them, so will keep an eye out for cats..............

Dottie (Pixie)

[Mona Miller]

If you put milkweed into the bug guide search, you'd be surprised at all the creatures that use milkweed:
http://bugguide.net/index.php?q=search& ... rch=Search

http://bugguide.net/node/view/328360
http://bugguide.net/node/view/162571
Swamp Milkweed Beetle

http://bugguide.net/node/view/535782
Small Milkweed Bug, these eat the seeds

http://bugguide.net/node/view/285429
Red Milkweed Beetle, these eat the milkweed and lay eggs in the stems, their borers eat the rhizomes.

[David Calhoun]

Mona, that was a neat link you put for milkweed on bugguide.net . Like, two thousand bugs! ( I had never considered putting a plant in their search) , only bugs. David

[Mona Miller]

Now you know that plants can be included in a search, too.