Hemiptera Oak Ridge, TN June 19, 2008 Milkweed Bugs feed on the seeds and flower nectar of Milkweed plants. The bright black and orange colors of the bugs are a warning to birds and other predators that they have a bad taste.
This close-up of a Milkweed bug's head shows how it uses the long mouthpart to drink nectar from the Milkweed flowers. Unlike the Milkweed Beetle, it does not eat the flower.
Hemiptera This adult Boxelder Bug and the two nymphs have bright red and black markings, a signal that they are poisonous if eaten. These are "true bugs" in the order Hemiptera (meaning "half-wing"), they have four wings that cross over in an "X" shape and piercing mouth parts for drinking liquids. They also have large, round "bug eyes". True bugs, grasshoppers, dragonflies and roaches go through incomplete metamorphosis. They start out life as a nymph, which looks much like the adult stage, but without wings.
