#tetraopes

[cnestus]

Tetraopes femoratus

[herpsandbirds]

Red Milkweed Beetles (Tetraopes tetrophthalmus), family Cerambycidae, on Common Milkweed, Anna Arbor, MI, USA

photographs by Paxon Kale CC

[ichneumoniid]

Milkweed beetles I love you forever

(Tetraopes tetropthalmus, 7/4/2024)

[aardwolfpack]

Red milkweed beetles (Tetraopes tetrophthalmus). When we were kids we called these "army bugs." I don't know why.

[onenicebugperday]

@probablyatrashcan submitted: who might these two lovers be?

Oh, an intimate moment! I hope they forgive us for interrupting them. They're red milkweed beetles in the genus Tetraopes, but without a location, I can't say which species!

Edit: thank you for sharing your location in another message! Likely Tetraopes tetrophthalmus.

[dendroica]

Red Milkweed Beetles mating (by me)

[calosoma-amitch]

Red milkweed beetles (Tetraopes spp.), Fishers Island, NY, June 2014. Feeding on common milkweed (Asclepias syriaca).  Monarch butterflies aren’t the only insects to feed on milkweed plants. Many other insects have followed that evolutionary path too, such as these milkweed beetles. Like the monarch, these beetles bear striking colors that announce their toxicity to predators. The adults are active in the Mid-Atlantic in June while the monarchs make their way north. The larvae feed on the milkweed roots below.  The top species is T. tetrophthalmus, and the mating pair is possibly T. melanurus

[dendroica]

Red Milkweed Beetles mating (by me)