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Unknown Moth and Honey Bee on Milkweed

On April 28, 2013 · Category: Honey Bees, Moths Tagged With: Milkweed Meadow, Unidentified · 2 Comments

Subject: Accidental Photo of What May be an Exposed Bird-Dropping Moth
Location: Coryell County, central Texas
April 27, 2013 5:23 pm
I was photographing this honey bee on the wild milkweed today (may be Antelope Horn Milkweed?) and I later noticed a tiny fly (bee?), an ant, and what may be an Exposed Bird-Dropping Moth in the photo. No, I didn’t make up that name. Here is a reference I found online: http://www.outdoornatureclub.org/Moths/content/9136_Exposed_Bird-Dropping_Moth_20100801_large.html
Warm, cloudy weather with scattered showers.
Thank you!
Signature: Ellen

Honey Bee and Moth on Milkweed

Dear Ellen,
There are many moths that have coloration and markings that seem to mimic bird droppings, and when we first saw your subject line, we thought you must have meant one of the Wood Nymphs in the genus Eudryas. Your moth does resemble the Bird Dropping Moth, however, we don’t believe it is the same species. You were focused on the Honey Bee, so the details in the moth are not as sharp. We did find another good image of a different species called the Small Bird Dropping Moth, Tarachidia erastrioides, on the Fontenelle Nature Association Nature Search website, but again, we don’t think it looks like an exact match to your moth.

What’s That Moth???

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Syrphid Fly Larvae eat Oleander Aphids on Milkweed

On March 20, 2013 · Category: Aphids, Scale Insects, Leafhoppers, and Tree Hoppers, Syrphid Flies Tagged With: food chain, Milkweed Meadow · Add Comment

Subject: Three Lacewing larvae attacking Oleander aphids…
Location: Chicago
March 19, 2013 8:05 pm
I took this picture of three lacewing larvae attacking a colony of Oleander aphids right before I blasted them off my milkweed plant with the hose last August here in Chicago.
Signature: Justin

Syrphid Fly Larvae eat Oleander Aphids

Hi Justin,
Thanks for sending us an awesome documentary photo, but you have misidentified the predators. While Lacewing Larvae are known to feed ravenously on Aphids, these are actually Syrphid Fly Larvae. Adults are often called Hover Flies or Flower Flies. While we commend your use of a hose to remove the Aphids, a greener alternative than pesticides, we would like to offer our perspective. By hosing off the Aphids, you also removed the predators. We would have let nature take its course on this leaf, and we believe the Syrphid Larvae would have eaten all the Aphids in the vicinity. The Flies would then have matured and produced a new generation of predators and if you have a properly balanced garden with predator species, the need to control Aphids in the future might become an unnecessary action. We would have hosed off Aphids from plants that had no predators nearby.

Syrphid Larva eats Oleander Aphid

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Monarch Eclosion

On March 1, 2013 · Category: Brush Footed Butterflies, brush footed butterfly caterpillars Tagged With: Milkweed Meadow · Add Comment

Subject: Daniel – Monarch Butterfly Eclosion
Location: Hawthorne, CA
February 28, 2013 4:35 pm
Hi Daniel,
First, I’m sorry I haven’t sent photos before now. We lost our first Monarch and it kinda threw me for a loop. It was my first time seeing this wonderful process but I could tell at the beginning that something wasn’t right with him. Another eclosed just behind us just afterwards and flew after a few hours. The first was still around the next morning. When we got back from our weekly grocery shopping, it was on the ground with a back leg folded up underneath itself and dragging its right wing. It has a place of honor in back and I hope to grow a milkweed plant at that very spot. That said, I’ve now seen two more eclose and there are still two left. Maybe another 5-6 days left for them. We spotted six chrysalides total but maybe there are more! The two remaining chrysalides are definitely the last two caterpillars and I will be glad to be able to get out back and clean up the garden once they’ve completed their metamorphosis. So far, one we don’t know the sex of, two males and one female. It’s been difficult to choose which photos to send as this is such a wonderful process. The first of the three is the first butterfly just starting to pump the fluid from his abdomen into the wings. The other two are from a different eclosion. Also, I have a very good friend who was visiting from Oregon last week and she took the three remaining already eclosed chrysalides home with her. She wants to cast them in silver and make jewelry from them. We don’t know if they are too delicate for this, but I’ll get a necklace if they aren’t.
Hope all is well with you and that you have been enjoying our beautiful ”winter” weather.
Signature: Anna Carreon

Mature Monarch Chrysalis

Hi Anna,
This wonderful documentation of your Monarch population is greatly appreciated and we are certain our readership will find them helpful. We are sorry to hear that you have not had 100% survival rate.

Monarch Eclosion

Your adult male Monarch is surely a comely specimen.

Male Monarch

Hi Daniel,
Thanks very much and I’ll try to keep you posted when the last two eclose. It’s been a great experience, one I wish I’d had as a kid.
Anna

I think I was a little off on the remaining chrysalides. One looks as though it will eclose today, tomorrow at the latest. The other won’t be far behind, as they pupated within a day of each other.
Anna

Update March 1, 2013
I did notice that the site looked not quite right and I couldn’t navigate as before, but waited a few days and then all seemed to be better. We did have eclosion of the fifth Monarch Butterfly about an hour ago. I wasn’t around for it and am not sure why it was not hanging from its chrysalis when I discovered. It’s slowly crawling up the Mexican Milkweed stalk that it pupated on, so I’m keeping a close and protective eye on it. Could have been that a finch or a wasp disturbed it, but I’ll never know. Back out to the back, and thanks for letting me know your site is experiencing problems.
Anna

Hi Anna,
The webmaster is away and there are some technical difficulties preventing new postings and additions from showing live.

Update March 2, 2013
So, our last butterfly eclosed today. It was a boy. Seven known chrysalides: 1 unknown, 2 female, 4 male. Three didn’t make it. I don’t know if that’s a good ratio or not.
Anna
I should say seven known. Hopefully there were more that slid out under our radar.

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Aphid Wolf

On August 4, 2012 · Category: Neuropterans: Lacewings, Antlions, and Owlflies Tagged With: Milkweed Meadow · Add Comment

Subject: Help identifying this nymph like insect.
Location: Lapeer county, MI
August 4, 2012 1:52 pm
I have been finding these little buggers on the underside of my milkweed while looking for monarch eggs. They are about 1/2” long with pinchers in the front. I’m pretty sure I’ve been bitten/stung by them in the past…always feel a hot pain, and then look down to see one on my arm or leg. They always seem to show up in late summer. I believe it may be an immature stage of something, I just don’t know what; can’t find it in any of my insect books. Do you know what it is?
Signature: Sincerely, Colleen Smith

Lacewing Larva

Hi Colleen,
This is a beneficial Lacewing larva, commonly called an Aphid Wolf. they will help control the aphids on your milkweed. It is possible that a large lacewing larva might also eat a newly hatched monarch caterpillar, but older caterpillars are safe. Though it is not dangerous, the bite of an Aphid Wolf can be an irritation.

Thank you for your response! Good to know they’re beneficial…glad to know that between them and the ladybug larva, my aphids will be taken care of! I’ll just have to be careful not to “run” into them….their bites smart a bit!

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Milkweed Longhorn Beetle and Unexpected Cycnia Caterpillar

On July 10, 2012 · Category: Longhorn Beetles, Tiger Moths and Arctiids Tagged With: Milkweed Meadow · Add Comment

Subject: Red Beetle with Black Spots
Location: Johnson County Kansas
July 9, 2012 7:57 pm
I found the attached in Johnson County Kansas. The beetle was sitting on milkweed and although there was evidence of damage adjacent to the beetle I did not observe it feeding. The brown caterpillar in the attached photo was one of several that were indeed feeding on Milkweeds in my pasture.
Signature: Mike

Milkweed Longhorn Beetle

Hi Mike,
Normally we like to confine the number of insects in a single posting to one unless they are the same family, but we are making an exception in your case because we have a Milkweed Meadow tag because so many different insects comprise the intricate ecosystem that depends upon milkweed. Your beetle is a Milkweed Longhorn in the genus Tetraopes. If they are disturbed, they create a squeaking sound by Stridulation. The sound is produced by rubbing body parts together. The caterpillar was a bit more of a challenge. We quickly located this Gaia Garden: The Milkweed Insect Tribe webpage with a photograph identified as the orange-margined dogbane moth, Cycnia tenera. We always double check identifications if possible, and that name on BugGuide was a different insect. As luck would have it, additional searching led us to another member of the same genus, Cycnia inopinatus, the Unexpected Cycnia Caterpillar, also on BugGuide. Many insects that feed on milkweed sport orange or red and black coloration to warn predators that the insects are either poisonous or distasteful due to the toxins in the milkweed.

Unexpected Cycnia Caterpillar

Daniel, thank you very much for the information. FYI I have about 2 acres of Milkweed (many varieties) in my pasture that is home to a wide variety of insects. This year for the first time I have yet to find any Monarch Butterfly caterpillars in them. Again, thanks for helping out a true neophyte with some good information. _Mike Lewis_

We are very disturbed to learn that two acres of milkweed did not produce any Monarch Caterpillars despite having been a habitat for them in the past. We wonder if this is a local drop in population or if this is more global. That is sad news. Perhaps if you happen to see any in the future, you can take some photos and send them to us with the subject line Monarch Caterpillars.

I will be happy to sned you any new photos I get of Monarch Caterpillars. I am not an entomologist nor a botanist but from my layman’s perspective it is most likely a combination of factors that has reduced the population of large Butterflies on my small farm.
A severe drought has increased the local farmers desire to produce additional forage for their livestock. Fields and field edges that used to produce large amounts of nectar producing plants like Ironweed and Red Clover have been treated with herbicide to make way for livestock friendly plants like orchard grass.
The flowering trees in my yard like apple and dogwood produced almost zero flowers this year. I typically plant a patch of approximately 200 square feet of Dill for the Black Swallowtails. I got almost no germination of my dill seeds this year. Even the bee hives I keep on my place have reduced their honey production this year by at least 40% over past years.
Hopefully this is not a complete catastrophe and in time some of my gossamer winged friends will return.

Thank you for that very thorough analysis Mike.

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Mating Milkweed Longhorns and Japanese Beetle

On June 20, 2012 · Category: Longhorn Beetles, Scarab Beetles Tagged With: Invasive Exotics, Milkweed Meadow · Add Comment

A few insects
Location: Southern Illinois
June 20, 2012 8:05 AM
A few more questions for What’s That Bug. Two weeks ago while walking I got to see these first two insects in the same patch of sweet peas. A little help in the ID would be nice. The other insect is feeding on Poison Hemlock. The RedBug pic would be R rated I think.
Thank you, JimmyDean

Mating Milkweed Longhorns and Japanese Beetle

Dear JimmyDean,
Please use our standard form each time you submit a new request. We realize it is easier to just respond to a previous request, but by not using our forms, important fields might be overlooked, like location. We needed to hunt down your previous posting on our site to ascertain your location as Southern Illinois, provided of course these images were not taken on a road trip. We are posting your photo of mating Milkweed Longhorns, also called Red Milkweed Beetles or Milkweed Borers. A Japanese Beetle, an invasive exotic species that has naturalized in the eastern states, is also in the photo. The plants are not sweet peas but milkweed, and there is a diverse community of insects and other creatures that flourishes around milkweed. The other milkweed photo is of mating Large Milkweed Bugs and the insect on the poison hemlock is a Soldier Beetle.

I apologize for not using the form. I was running hard this morning (or was it yesterday?) and forgot. I will make sure that I go to the form next time. Thanks for the assistance. Jim

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Milkweed Longhorns

On June 14, 2012 · Category: Longhorn Beetles Tagged With: Milkweed Meadow · Add Comment

Subject: Red bug with black dots?
Location: Indiana
June 2, 2012 6:25 pm
Hello! I was walking my dog today and I seen these strange little bugs on a leaf on the corner of the street.
Signature: Kaylee

Milkweed Longhorns

Hi Kaylee,
These are Milkweed Longhorns or Red Milkweed Beetles in the genus Tetraopes, a group of beetles in the Longhorned Borer family Cerambycidae. Milkweed Longhorns are found on milkweed and they feed on the leaves as adults and the larvae bore in the roots of milkweed. The adults squeak when handled. More information can be found on BugGuide. We are postdating your submission to go live during our holiday later in the month.

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Large Milkweed Bug Nymphs

On November 13, 2011 · Category: Seed Bugs Tagged With: Milkweed Meadow · Add Comment

Young Ladybugs or Something Harmful
Location: West Los Angeles
November 12, 2011 12:30 pm
Hi Bugman,
I’ve seen a couple groups of these small red bug on my milkweed bushes.
Are they Ladybugs or something else?
Thx, Jeff Bremer
Signature: Jeff Bremer

Large Milkweed Bug Nymphs

Hi Jeff,
These are the early instar nymphs of Large Milkweed Bugs. They feed upon the juices of the milkweed seeds and pods. They will not cause damage to the plant, but the number of viable seeds that are produced by the plant might be reduced. This does not appear to be a native milkweed, so the lack of seed production is not something that should be considered a problem. We would urge you to allow the Large Milkweed Bugs to share the plants with the butterflies you are trying to attract. You can see BugGuide for a matching photo.

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Unknown Moth and Honey Bee on Milkweed

Syrphid Fly Larvae eat Oleander Aphids on Milkweed

Monarch Eclosion

Aphid Wolf

Milkweed Longhorn Beetle and Unexpected Cycnia Caterpillar

Mating Milkweed Longhorns and Japanese Beetle

Milkweed Longhorns

Large Milkweed Bug Nymphs

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