Large Milkweed Bug

Oncopeltus fasciatus

Classification

Conservation Status

  • Milkweed bugs prefer open areas and meadows with milkweed or dogbane.
  • The Large Milkweed Bugs bright color pattern is an example of aposematism – a warning to predators of the foul taste and toxins found in their bodies. The toxins found in their bodies are derived from the sap they suck from milkweed. 
  • These insects are considered a nuisance rather than a threat to milkweed plants. 
  • Milkweed bugs are only a half-inch long, but migrate over the course of the year they migrate from the Gulf Coast to Canada, following the developing supply of milkweed seeds northward.