swamp milkweed leaf beetle (Labidomera clivicollis) at Cardinal Marsh IA 653A4778

There are lots of different leaf beetles and many of them are named for the plants they like to eat. A couple common examples would be the Colorado potato beetle and the cucumber beetle. This swamp milkweed leaf beetle has a preference for swamp milkweed leaves, but common milkweed leaves are sufficient too. This colorful beetle has the same bold black and orange warning colors shared by many bugs that feed on milkweed, including the famous monarch butterfly. Milkweed juice is toxic to most animals so these beetles have very few predators. Somewhere back in time, these adaptive beetles evolved the ability to drink milkweed latex without dying. Adults and their larvae feed on milkweed leaves, cutting through nearby leaf veins first to minimize the amount of toxic latex they ingest. When winter comes, this adult swamp milkweed leaf beetle will crawl under the grassland leaf litter and hibernate until spring. One fun fact about swamp milkweed leaf beetles is that a male and female sometimes spend up to five days mating - they must really be in love😎

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