CLOSED: Lygaeus turcicus (Small Eastern Milkweed Bug)

Can anyone tell me whether this is a beneficial or detrimental bug? I'm having trouble getting good info on this aspect of them online, but they are all over my milkweeds and seem to be breeding all day every day! Even soapy water hasn't touched them, and true pesticides are out of the question in my garden, so if they're harmful, I'm not sure what I'll do.

http://davesgarden.com/guides/bf/go/4910/
http://www.stephencresswell.com/s/lygaeus-turcicus.html

Thanks for any help that can be offered!

Emma

I can't say that I've noticed them damaging anything... I see them on Heliopsis, but none so far this year. Some bugs in that family eat seeds.
To me, the fun of growing milkweeds is all the insects they draw. They still look nice with bugs on them!

I grow certain plants like the Asclepias curassavica for no other reason than as host and nectar plants for butterflies, so I worry about detrimental bugs harming the plants or my Queen & Monarch eggs and larvae. The aphids have gotten so awful in the last two weeks that they aren't leaving enough healthy growth for the larvae, so I had to resort to spraying with soapy water after temporarily removing all the lady bugs and caterpillars I could find! My population of caterpillars has decreased since the arrival of these Milkweed Bugs, but I know that may be a coincidence since that's also the time that the aphids really began damaging the plants ~ that's why I'm on a hunt for info on what they eat. If they're eating my caterpillar eggs, I will have to begin the Pick & Stomp method of removing them from my garden!

Thank you for replying ~ I'm glad to know they don't seem to be damaging your Heliopsis...that's at least a step towards getting answers!

I don't know how to tell the difference between these and the 'large milkweed bugs' that are listed here
http://davesgarden.com/guides/bf/go/199/
but whichever I have, they seem to gather on the pods often, and the pods don't open up as nice and fluffy.
I've had plenty of common milkweed for years now, , several batches of milkweed moth cats but only the occasional monarch cat.

I just remembered the L. turcicus is so closely related to L. kalmii that they might not even be different species - there is info about what L.kalmii eats on the bugguide page:

Thank you, claypa ~ that is a fabulous website! It seems then that it's a coincidence that the Monarch and Queen cats have decreased since these guys moved in, and is therefore likely the aphids' fault for not leaving enough healthy growth for the babies. Yay, one less thing to Pick & Stomp! This also explains why some of the seed pods have chunks chewed out of them...finally, things are beginning to add up! Thank goodness the plants have so many pods because I'm still able to harvest on an almost daily basis for trades.

I believe this thread is officially solved!