Here is a solitary milkweed bug, Oncopeltus fasciatus. In late summer milkweeds are colonized by milkweed bugs. Nymphs and adults of this bug cluster on developing leaves and seed heads in summer and fall. As members of the seed bug clan, milkweed bugs insert a long slender beak into the ripening seeds within the developing pod. After injecting digestive enzymes into the seed, they suck liquefied food through the straw-like beak into their gut where nutrients will be used for growth, development, and reproduction. During her lifetime, the female milkweed bug may lay up to 2000 eggs. Small orange and black nymphs hatch from the eggs and eat seeds of milkweed. Like other milkweed feeders, milkweed bugs obtain poisonous compounds from milkweed that are used for defense.
This specimen has apparently finished eating and decided to just hang out on the soft strands that have burst out of the ripe milkweed pod
