Oncopeltus Fasciatus

I hit the Google page running with this question...What kind of bug hangs out on the milkweed plant?

I felt just a little stupid when the answer shot back. It's the milkweed bug. How could I have not known that? DUH....

Come to find out they come in 2 sizes...large and small. Kind of like the Whopper, and the Jr. Whopper. The ones pictured here are the large variety. The small ones have a heart on their backs, where these big ones have that minus sign. The tiny little bugs are the babies. They are called nymphs. Nymphs...not nymphos.

The bug has a life span of 120 days. Can you imagine being put on this Earth for 120 days, and all you want to do is suck the juices out of a milkweed plant? Strange. The nymphs "shed" their skin 5 different times before having a month or two of adulthood. The adult female lays 30 eggs a day...2000 total in her lifetime.

During mating...sometimes the pair is "hooked" up for up to 10 hours. (Throw in your own joke about 10 hours compared to 10 minutes for most males.)

Most of the bugs get to live out their entire 120 days. Ya know why? The milkweed seeds that they eat are toxic. Predators who want a quick lunch either spit them out, or they eat them and vomit. Kind of like me with liver and onions. Taste it once...vomit...never again.

So...there you go. Everything you always wanted to know about the milkweed bug. I feel like Sid...the science kid.