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Large Milkweed Bug

A mating pair of orange large milkweed bug (Spilostethus hospes; family Lygaeidae) on a giant Indian milkweed leaf (crown flower, আকন্দ / Calotropis gigantea, family Asclepiadaceae).

 

Milkweed bugs are usually found in small groups on milkweed plants, often on the underside of the leaves. The bugs feed on seeds and tissue of the milkweed plants.

 

Lygaeidae are a family in the Hemiptera (true bugs), comprising twenty-one genera. The family includes insects commonly known as chinch bugs, milkweed bugs, and also some of those known as seed bugs.

 

Talsari Island, Bay of Bengal

Orissa, India

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Uploaded on April 23, 2014
Taken on November 26, 2012