CLOSED: will this bug hurt my monarch caterpillers?

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mjsponies DeLand/Deleon Spring, FL(Zone 8b) Jul 02, 2009

it hangs out on my milkweed

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claypa West Pottsgrove, PA(Zone 6b) Jul 02, 2009

No, they won't hurt your caterpillars. It's a Large Milkweed Bug, Oncopeltus fasciatus.

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mjsponies DeLand/Deleon Spring, FL(Zone 8b) Jul 02, 2009

oh good, thank you !

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Sheila_FW Fort Worth, TX(Zone 8a) Jul 05, 2009

Just found this on a website.... they don't just hang out there..

Quoting:

Adults and nymphs feed on milkweed plant juices, seeds and occasionally on other plant juices. When their native plant is scarce, they may become scavengers and predators. Both nymphs and adults use milkweed as their primary source of food.

Monarch are the only ones I want munching on my milkweed. I thump them into a cup of soapy water.

This message was edited Jul 5, 2009 12:12 AM

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mjsponies DeLand/Deleon Spring, FL(Zone 8b) Jul 05, 2009

ok...I had been killing them, then thought maybe they'd eat the aphids. But now they gotta go.
Thank you!

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gardenpom Melbourne, FL Jul 08, 2009

These things totally destroyed by Milkweed this past year.

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cedar18 Lula, GA(Zone 7b) Jul 08, 2009

I had a terrible infestation last year on my butterfly weed. I drowned dozens every day!! I was trying to save the seed pods and that is their main food. This year though, so far, only a few.