How do milkweed bugs mate

Color is an indicator of maturity. If the eggs are pale to school-bus yellow, it will be a few days until they hatch. If the eggs are pumpkin-orange to red, they will hatch in the next couple of days. Eggs are shipped on a wad of floss.

If you are unable to begin the investigation when the eggs arrive, they may be kept in the container at cool room temperatures or refrigerated for short periods; otherwise they will hatch within one week. If the eggs have hatched upon arrival, add a few sunflower seeds and hatched nymphs to the vials for distribution to the students. Keep adult males and females in separate containers. Add a few sunflower seeds and a moist paper towel wick for moisture.

To keep adult milkweed bugs for a longer period of time, place in milkweed bug habitats with sunflower seed packets, water fountain, twigs, and floss for eggs.

Milkweed bug habitat. Culturing milkweed bugs is fairly easy. The bugs require no soil or green plant material. Just about any container is suitable for a habitat. Because milkweed bugs can walk on any surface, including smooth plastic, glass, metal, wet surfaces, and all textured surfaces, the habitat must be closed tightly, and the ventilation holes must be tiny so the first instar nymphs can't escape.

We suggest a plastic zip bag for the habitat container. Use a pin to poke a hundred holes in the bag, and install a water container in the bottom.

To add interest, put a branch in the bag and attach a bundle of raw, shelled sunflower seeds and a cotton ball to the branch. Hang the bag from a paper clip next to a wall out of direct sunlight.

Maintenance is minimal. Keep an eye on the water level, and when it gets low after 3—4 weeks, add water and perhaps replace the wick. A new bundle of 20 to 30 sunflower seeds each month should be adequate for a modest culture of 25 bugs.

The culture may start to look a little messy after a month as little brown spots of waste appear on the walls of the bag and the molts start to accumulate. Transfer the branch, water fountain, and bugs to a new bag to renew the aesthetic appeal of the culture. If the milkweeds are not part of a butterfly garden, any of the various insecticides labeled for landscape use should give more than adequate control. Although Sevin and other insecticides have a negative impact on pollinators, milkweed bugs seem to flourish late in the growing season after milkweeds have already formed seed pods and ceased blooming.

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Related Publications. Description and Biology Skip to Description and Biology. Milkweed bugs usually appear after seed pods form on milkweed. Print Image. Newly hatched milkweed bug nymphs are more slender than older nymphs.

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. The bodies of milkweed bugs contain toxic compounds derived from the sap which they suck from milkweed.

Milkweed bugs are true bugs Hemiptera. They are used as research insects because they are easy to use in the laboratory, have a short life cycle and are easy to manipulate.

Milkweed bugs are more of a nuisance than a threat to milkweed plants. They feed on the seeds by piercing the seed pod and can be found in all stages of growth on the plants in mid to late summer. The milkweed bug undergoes incomplete metamorphosis. The nymphs look like adults but do not have full wings and their color pattern is different. They have five instars before they reach adulthood. Black wing pads appear early in their development.

Eggs are a light lemon yellow changing to a reddish color. Incubation period is about four to five days. Each molt lasts five to six days. An adult will live for about one month. The insect overwinters as an adult. Live with the damage. Milkweed bugs do little damage and are only present for a short period of time. Just living with the insects may be the most prudent thing to do.

Remove leaf litter and spent stalks in the fall to eliminate overwintering sites. Use insecticidal soap. For quick control of an infestation insecticidal soaps are very effective and safe. Good coverage of the insects with the spray is necessary for it to be effective.