The Milkweed Bug. It is distributed throughout north america it ranges from central america through mexico and the caribbean to southern areas in canada. This means that milkweed bugs do not possess mouths for biting and chewing food but feature a tube like mouth part proboscis for sucking fluids.
This helps to control the milkweed plant which can be invasive but is also an important food source and breeding location for monarch butterflies. It feeds on the seeds leaves and stems of milkweed asclepias it is found in small groups on milkweed often on the stems leaves and on the seed pods. Then you probably have milkweed bugs.
Milkweed bug is killing the plants.
Costa rica represents this insect s southern limit. It is distributed throughout north america it ranges from central america through mexico and the caribbean to southern areas in canada. All summer and into fall we spotted the familiar reddish black and white bugs scurrying around on our showy milkweed asclepias speciosa and tropical milkweed asclepias curassavica. The milkweed bug and milkweed assassin bug both look almost the same so it s often easy to get them confused and mistaken a milkweed bug bite that actually came from a milkweed assassin bug.