milkweed bug on western wallflower (Explored)
A small eastern milkweed bug, Lygaeus kalmi, on western wallflower, Erysimum capitatum. Milkweed bugs specialize on the seeds of milkweeds, but are undeterred by the milkweed's chemical defenses. By consuming and storing the milkweed's chemical defenses, the milkweed bug becomes distasteful to its potential predators. Western wallflower is a native wildflower from the Great Lakes to the Pacific and north to Alaska, but it is also available from horticulturists as an ornamental. It has at least 6 subspecies, a few are rare, one is endangered.
milkweed bug on western wallflower (Explored)
A small eastern milkweed bug, Lygaeus kalmi, on western wallflower, Erysimum capitatum. Milkweed bugs specialize on the seeds of milkweeds, but are undeterred by the milkweed's chemical defenses. By consuming and storing the milkweed's chemical defenses, the milkweed bug becomes distasteful to its potential predators. Western wallflower is a native wildflower from the Great Lakes to the Pacific and north to Alaska, but it is also available from horticulturists as an ornamental. It has at least 6 subspecies, a few are rare, one is endangered.