Can anyone help me with these 2 bugs I seem to keep finding on my butterfly bush? I live in Sanderson Florida if that helps
Thanks in advance
Bug ID
Is your plant tropical milkweed? The flower resembles it. The first insect looks a lot like the Oleander Aphid. It is an introduced species that has spread across the US. It feeds on Oleanders, but has found milkweed plants to be a good substitute. As one trying to attract Monarchs, this has not been a good thing. They have really done damage, but this year, they arrived late, allowing Monarchs to lay eggs. I just smash the aphids, not wanting to destroy or disrupt the butterfly larvae.
I think I will pass on the second one. It could be a type of wasp, or wasp mimic, or something else altogether.
Both are beneficial:
The first image is a milkweed assassin bug, Zelus longipes - see http://aggie-horticulture.tamu.edu/galveston/beneficials/beneficial-06_milkweed_assassin_bug.htm
The second insect is a wasp in the family Sphecidae (thread-waisted wasps); it looks like an Ammophila sp. - http://www.pbase.com/tmurray74/image/33378000
Oh, I was way off. I just looked again and I had missed the black wing. Sorry about that. :)
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