Milkweed Leaf Beetle Larva

Since I'm too busy to write about anything that requires research, here's some bug pictures.


(Click on images to enlarge)





This ugly little guy will eventually become less ugly.

I have only just learned about Mullerian mimicry and Batesian mimicry. The adult Milkweed Leaf Beetle is an example of the former: it shares the vivid orange-and-black coloring of several insect species that hang around on milkweeds and are toxic to predators. Milkweed Leaf Beetles, Milkweed Bugs, Monarch butterflies, etc. — they all have the same color scheme, and they will all give a bird an upset stomach. In the case of Batesian mimicry, a non-toxic species adopts the coloring of a toxic one to "borrow" protection from predators.

There, now you have some information to bore people with at parties.

In conclusion, if you would like to see some pictures of "frolicking" insects on milkweed, go here. I appreciate this guy's sense of humor.