Currently viewing the category: "Seed Bugs"
What's That Bug? does not endorse extermination

Immature Large Milkweed Bugs

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Subject:  Friend or Foe?
Geographic location of the bug:  Southern California Foothills
Date: 10/23/2019
Time: 12:50 PM EDT
Your letter to the bugman:  Hopefully this is an easy one. I am asking you to help identify these little guys. I do not want to miss identity a bug who is helping our cherry tomato plant. These showed up after the plant was established for several months.
Thank you for your time!
How you want your letter signed:  New guy

Immature Large Milkweed Bugs

Dear New guy,
These sure look to us like immature Large Milkweed Bugs and we do not believe they will harm your tomato plants.  Here is a BugGuide image for comparison.  Is there any milkweed growing nearby?  They are also sometimes found in association with oleander.

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What's That Bug? does not endorse extermination

Mating Red Banded Seed Eating Bugs from Australia

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Subject:  This had just appeared in our garden 2 weeks ago
Geographic location of the bug:  Wangaratta, north east Victoria
Date: 10/19/2019
Time: 09:36 PM EDT
Your letter to the bugman:  Thank you for your site. This bug appeared about 2 weeks ago and has the number has quickly increased since then.
How you want your letter signed:  Michael

Mating Red Banded Seed Eating Bugs

Dear Michael,
We were having trouble identifying your Seed Bugs from the family Lygaeidae, but we did locate a posting in our archives of a Red Banded Seed Eating Bug, Melanerythrus mactans, from almost ten years ago.  Here is a FlickR image.  According to the Atlas of Living Australia, its range is over most of the continent.

Mating Red Banded Seed Eating Bugs

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What's That Bug? does not endorse extermination

Large Milkweed Bug Nymphs

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Subject:  Red and black bug
Geographic location of the bug:  Alexandria, VA
Date: 08/08/2019
Time: 12:20 PM EDT
Your letter to the bugman:  Hi, these guys have recently showed up.  They are black and red, and are all over my Milkweed
How you want your letter signed:  Nicole

Large Milkweed Bug Nymphs

Dear Nicole,
Many people plant milkweed because of Monarch Butterflies, but there are a host of insects that depend upon milkweed for survival, including these Large Milkweed Bug nymphs, Oncopeltus fasciatus.  According to iNaturalist:  “Juvenile O. fasciatus require the seed of milkweed plants for development and growth. Adults can survive on other types of seeds such as: sunflower, watermelon, almond and cashew, as shown in lab populations. Nymphs live in large groups of about 20 individuals on the plant.”  Since they feed on the seeds and not on the plants, they will not damage the milkweed and there will be plenty of leaves for Monarch caterpillars to feed upon.

Immature Large Milkweed Bugs

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What's That Bug? does not endorse extermination

Mediterranean Seed Bug

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Subject:  Different bug
Geographic location of the bug:  Visalia ca
Date: 07/27/2019
Time: 02:23 AM EDT
Your letter to the bugman:  Found a little critter on my bed, thought it was a cockroach but the back looks different almost like a mask when u zoom it   what is this ?
How you want your letter signed:  Lizzy

Mediterranean Seed Bug

Dear Lizzy,
This is not a Cockroach.  It is an invasive Mediterranean Seed Bug, Xanthochilus saturnius, and it is pictured on pBase.  According to BugGuide:  “native to Europe and the Mediterranean, adventive in NA (WA-CA) and now locally abundant.”

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Large Milkweed Bug

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Subject:  Red and black bug
Geographic location of the bug:  Fountain valley, ca
Date: 03/23/2019
Time: 03:32 PM EDT
Your letter to the bugman:  Hello, Bugman!
I found three of these today on a milkweed (which I planted to attract monarchs). Two of them were mating. I live in Orange County, California, about five miles from the coast.  Any idea what it is?
How you want your letter signed:  Jennifer

Large Milkweed Bug

Dear Jennifer,
This is a benign Large Milkweed Bug and it will not harm your milkweed plants.  According to BugGuide, they eat:  “Seeds of milkweed plants. They can be reared and fed other seeds such as sunflower, watermelon, cashew”

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Large Milkweed Bug

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Subject:  Winged red detailed bug
Geographic location of the bug:  Brooklyn Navy Yard
Date: 03/03/2019
Time: 09:00 AM EDT
Your letter to the bugman:  Hi- stumbled across your site and thought of this bug I saw years ago-
I believe it was at the brooklyn Navy Yard, spring or summer
Is it rare? I’ve always kind of liked insects, and have never seen anything like this
How you want your letter signed:  IcyRazer

Large Milkweed Bug

Dear IcyRazer,
The Large Milkweed Bug is not considered rare.

Daniel-
Thanks for the quick response…
I was hoping it was some exotic bug never before seen in NY,  but great to know about the Large Milkweed Bug… it was quite beautiful, and I don’t recall ever seeing one before.
Thanks!
Thom

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What's That Bug? does not endorse extermination