Can anyone help ID this bug? Is it bad?

These bugs are on my milkweed. I don't really see any damage but wondered what they are. And if they're bad guys I'd sure like to know!

-- Vicky

I think these are Soldier Beetles, and if they are, they are not considered pests, but may be beneficial.

-Greg

I'm pretty sure that they are large milkweed bugs - Oncopeltus fasciatus. Now whether or not they do any damage, I don't know. They are considered seed bugs, so I would suspect that they would be mostly interested in seeds. They don't do any chewing - they suck juices. And since milkweed is presumably to be eaten anyway, you would probably want to let them be or knock them down and squash if they get too numerous rather than spray and potentially hurt or repell potential caterpillars.

Thanks for the help! Once I had a name I was able to look up photos on the web. I think they are milkweed bugs. They're kind of pretty actually. Odd that they're there now since I already harvested the seed from my milkweed.

-- Vicky

Well, they found the pantry, but it is bare.

I checked on those bugs today (before the sky got black!) and they were eating the flowers. Everything I read said they ate seeds but mine were definately eating or sucking the flowers.

http://davesgarden.com/forums/t/623700/

I have not see any damage to the flowers from these guys.

I'm not sure what these critters are, but they don't seem to match the picture of milkweed bugs I have. I had an infestation of them in my cabbage last year and thought they were harlequin bugs, but now that I've checked that picture, it doesn't match either. I can tell you they multiply like crazy, so I am removing all the ones I find. In numbers they are destructive.

These ARE milkweed bugs and you should kill them NOW. The best time to kill them is when they are mating because they can't get away as fast. I've managed to stop the infestation, for now, by killing them before they reproduce, or as they try! Once babies are born they are hard to control. I've never been quite sure what exactly they were doing but I do know it's not good. They suck the juice out of the pods for sure, which is not good when I want the seeds.

Here's another thread where we've been talking about them: http://davesgarden.com/forums/t/629934/

I had already removed all my pods and mine were definately eating the flowers. Some of the flower tops are GONE! I killed a bunch of them by catching them and squishing them and I sprayed some neem on the plants to hopefully get the others. I found a few on my fennel too.

-- Vicky

If the flower tops are "gone" these guys didn't do it. They can only suck plant juices. They can't chomp anything to the point of it being removed. If flower tops are being removed, that's another critter altogether.

And i'd be careful of spraying fennel if you are considering it, in case you have any caterpillars on it. I didn't get any this year, because of our drought, but usually my fennel is there for my bugs to eat anyway (as are many of the flowers in my flower garden.)

I'm actually kind of surprised that these are causing a problem - they seem so pretty too.

The flowers may be so withered they seem to be gone. These bugs can destroy plants--believe it, Night Bloom!

This is a link that Marilyn sent to me today. http://www.ivyhall.district96.k12.il.us/4TH/KKHP/1INSECTS/milkweed.html

wddr - well, true and that is different. If the flowers are just withered up, yes. But gone, gone - nope a bug can't do that. It doesn't have the "chompers".

I sprayed my milkweed with neem yesterday. When I went back today it was covered with more milkweed bugs! And I notice the underside of the leaves had lots of baby bugs. I'm not impressed with neem. I've used it to control several things it's supposed to kill but it hasn't. I don't know what other natural alternative I can use on bugs. I've had trouble with leaf miners, spider mites and now these guys. The neem hasn't done a thing.

-- Vicky

Are you raising the milkweed for butterflies (caterpillars)? If so, you can't spray it with a pesticide. It will kill those too! Any pesticide!

Including neem? I'm raising both for butterflys and for pleasure. So what do you do when bugs start destroying everything?

Including Neem. Well, you take it on the chin, basically. In the case of milkweed, the plant will come back - nature does it after the bugs have done their damage. But it will look really bad in the meantime. If you get the butterfly caterpillars you want, they too will do a number by eating the leaves. Milkweed is a catcher of insects: aphids, milkweed bugs, milkweed beetles...and caterpillars. About the only thing you can do is to hand catch. I have read on DG that some take out a bucket of soapy water and then start the catch and dunk method. Or ignore.

Many folks put butterfly larval food plants in the back of the garden, with other plants in front to cover them up when the damage gets going.

Yep, that's me and my "bucket 'o death" method. It's the only way sometimes and it's always worked and never harmed my plants. You have to do it at the right time tho and carefully inspect the plants.

If you are raising the milkweed for Monarchs and you don't have any cats or eggs on them right now you can safely use the bucket method. Just put a little soap in the water and get some suds going. For the milkweed bugs you have to get it right under them and quickly tap the plant or the pod hard enough for them to fall into the bucket. Little ones will run fast so you have to be quick.

For aphids you can safely take the top of the plant and just bend it over and swish it around in the bucket. Use less soap for aphids tho. You can even just use water and swish them in it and a lot will come off. If you don't attempt to get rid of the aphids before the eggs and cats start coming they will have to stay. Cats don't mind the aphids but sometimes the aphids can get the best of the plant.

I will usually go back and wash the plants off with plain water after I've dunked them to wash off residue. And just to be totally safe, just do it all with nothing but plain water.

You just have to decide what works for you. Last year I did nothing chemically with the aphids and they almost destroyed my milkweed crop. I heard after that that if you can stop the first infestation then you can keep a pretty good control of it so this year I used insecticidal soap. Then I would go back and wash it off the next day. I had no sign of Monarchs that early, and it put a halt to my plague.

You shouldn't have to wash off the soap. It has to directly contact the insect and dry on the insect to be effective - dessicates their soft little bodies. Once it dries on the plant, it is no longer harmful....or effective.

Thanks! that will save me some time. Wait, are you are talking about the insecticidal soap? or the dish soap?

Either. Well, having said that, you might check on the insecticidal soap bottle and see if it has any residual effects. I don't think it does....

Good advice all! I don't get so many monarchs but I do get a lot of Eastern Swallowtails. I've been knocking the buggers off and squishing them but of course I miss quite a few. I'll try the bucket of death!

-- Vicky

I'm still wondering if there's more than one kind of bug--milkweed bug and something that looks very similar and feasts on plants other than milkweeds. Milkweeds seem uncommon here. Not sure our camera can get a picture but I'll see what I can do in a day or two. (I went to the link provided by konkreteblond. )

Believe me, the ones in this pic are milkweed bugs. They come in various sizes and the shapes on their back might vary a little but the colors are the same and the eat milkweed.

I'm not sure that you had milkweed bugs on your cabbage tho. They might have looked similar but doubtful that they are milkweed tho. You really do need a pic tho to get an ID on your bug tho.


...came back to say sorry for saying "tho" so much. lol

This message was edited Jul 27, 2006 12:10 AM

Harlequin bugs feast on cabbage....and they are orange with black markings also...Their shape is different though - not as elongated.

Just wanted to chime in that leafminers for the most part do asthetic damge only. The main exceptions to this might be boxwood leaf miners (though I gotta say, I'm not a big fan of boxwoods, so for me good riddence - hee) and maybe some vegetable miners.

Me, I just enjoy the pretty patterns.

Now spider mites on the other hand, they got the pyrethrins the one time that I encuntered them.

Coulmbine leaf miners...

I just pick those off and put 'em in a plastic bag, to slow down the cycle....Not much else you can do , anyway....
And I just pray the spider mites with water - and repeat a few times. They don't like to be wet! Works for me....