| Red milkweed beetle | |
|---|---|
 | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Class: | Insecta |
| Order: | Coleoptera |
| Infraorder: | Cucujiformia |
| Family: | Cerambycidae |
| Subfamily: | Lamiinae |
| Genus: | Tetraopes |
| Species: | T. tetrophthalmus |
| Binomial name | |
| Tetraopes tetrophthalmus (Forster, 1771) | |
| Synonyms | |
| |
The red milkweed beetle (Tetraopes tetrophthalmus) is a beetle in the family Cerambycidae.
The binomial genus and species names are both derived from the Ancient Greek for "four eyes." As in many longhorn beetles, the antennae are situated very near the eye–in the red milkweed beetle, this adaptation has been carried to an extreme: the antennal base actually bisects the eye (See Fig. 1).
The milkweed beetle, a herbivore, is given this name because it is host-specific to common milkweed ( Asclepias syriaca ). [1] It has been reported on horsetail milkweed ( Asclepias verticillata ) in a disturbed site in Illinois. [1] : 81 [2]
Adults feed on the foliage and flowers of the plant, and the larvae feed on the roots. [3] [4] Therefore, much like the monarch butterfly, it is thought that the beetles derive some protection from predators by incorporating toxins from the plant into their bodies, thereby becoming distasteful. [5]
These beetles feed by opening veins in the milkweed plant, decreasing the beetles' exposure to latex-like sap. [6]
When startled, the beetles make a shrill noise, while they make a 'purring' noise when interacting with another beetle. [6] The red and black coloring are aposematic, advertising the beetles' inedibility. Red milkweed beetles lay egg-clutches in mid-summer inside the stem base of the milkweed plant. [7]
Asclepias tuberosa, commonly known as butterfly weed, is a species of milkweed native to eastern and southwestern North America. It is commonly known as butterfly weed because of the butterflies that are attracted to the plant by its color and its copious production of nectar.
The monarch butterfly or simply monarch is a milkweed butterfly in the family Nymphalidae. Other common names, depending on region, include milkweed, common tiger, wanderer, and black-veined brown. It is among the most familiar of North American butterflies and an iconic pollinator, although it is not an especially effective pollinator of milkweeds. Its wings feature an easily recognizable black, orange, and white pattern, with a wingspan of 8.9–10.2 cm (3.5–4.0 in). A Müllerian mimic, the viceroy butterfly, is similar in color and pattern, but is markedly smaller and has an extra black stripe across each hindwing.
Asclepias is a genus of herbaceous, perennial, flowering plants known as milkweeds, named for their latex, a milky substance containing cardiac glycosides termed cardenolides, exuded where cells are damaged. Most species are toxic to humans and many other species, primarily due to the presence of cardenolides. However, as with many such plants, some species feed upon them or from them. The most notable of them is the monarch butterfly, which uses and requires certain milkweeds as host plants for their larvae.
Asclepias syriaca, commonly called common milkweed, butterfly flower, silkweed, silky swallow-wort, and Virginia silkweed, is a species of flowering plant. It is native to southern Canada and much of the United States east of the Rocky Mountains, excluding the drier parts of the prairies. It is in the genus Asclepias, the milkweeds. It grows in sandy soils as well as other kinds of soils in sunny areas.
Asclepias incarnata, the swamp milkweed, rose milkweed, rose milkflower, swamp silkweed, or white Indian hemp, is a herbaceous perennial plant species native to North America. It grows in damp through wet soils and also is cultivated as a garden plant for its flowers, which attract butterflies and other pollinators with nectar. Like most other milkweeds, it has latex containing toxic chemicals, a characteristic that repels insects and other herbivorous animals.
Butterfly gardening is a way to create, improve, and maintain habitat for lepidopterans including butterflies, skippers, and moths. Butterflies have four distinct life stages—egg, larva, chrysalis, and adult. In order to support and sustain butterfly populations, an ideal butterfly garden contains habitat for each life stage.
Asclepias asperula, commonly called antelope horns milkweed or spider milkweed, is a species of milkweed native to the Southwestern United States and northern Mexico.
Asclepias curassavica, commonly known as tropical milkweed, is a flowering plant species of the milkweed genus, Asclepias. It is native to the American tropics and has a pantropical distribution as an introduced species. Other common names include bloodflower or blood flower, cotton bush, hierba de la cucaracha, Mexican butterfly weed, redhead, scarlet milkweed, and wild ipecacuanha.
Asclepias purpurascens, the purple milkweed, is a herbaceous plant species. It is in the genus Asclepias, making it a type of milkweed. It is native to the Eastern, Southern and Midwestern United States similar to the range of the common milkweed. The plant gets its name from the flowers that first develop a pink color but then turn darker purple as they mature. Unlike common milkweed, purple milkweed prefers some shade and is considered a plant of partial shade. It is also considered an indicator of oak savanna, especially in Wisconsin. The species rarely produces seed pods which are smooth, instead of the rough warty ones produced by common milkweed.
A cardenolide is a type of steroid. Many plants contain derivatives, collectively known as cardenolides, including many in the form of cardenolide glycosides (cardenolides that contain structural groups derived from sugars). Cardenolide glycosides are often toxic; specifically, they are heart-arresting. Cardenolides are toxic to animals through inhibition of the enzyme Na+/K+‐ATPase, which is responsible for maintaining the sodium and potassium ion gradients across the cell membranes.
Asclepias verticillata, the whorled milkweed, eastern whorled milkweed, or horsetail milkweed, is a species of milkweed native to most of eastern North America and parts of western Canada and the United States.
Oncopeltus fasciatus, known as the large milkweed bug, is a medium-sized hemipteran of the family Lygaeidae. It is distributed throughout North America, from Central America through Mexico and the Caribbean to southern areas in Canada. Costa Rica represents this insect's southern limit. It inhabits disturbed areas, roadsides, and open pastures. Due to this widespread geographic distribution, this insect exhibits varying life history trade-offs depending on the population location, including differences in wing length and other traits based on location.
Sphex pensylvanicus, the great black wasp, is a species of digger wasp. It lives across most of North America and grows to a size of 20–35 mm (0.8–1.4 in). The larvae feed on living insects that the females paralyze and carry to the underground nest.
Asclepias meadii is a rare species of milkweed known by the common name Mead's milkweed. It is native to the American Midwest, where it was probably once quite widespread in the tallgrass prairie. Today much of the Midwest has been fragmented and claimed for agriculture, and the remaining prairie habitat is degraded.
Asclepias lanceolata, the fewflower milkweed, is a species of milkweed that is native to the coastal plain of the United States from New Jersey to Florida and Southeast Texas. A. lanceolata is an upright, perennial plant that can grow between 3 and 5 feet tall, with red-orange flowers blooming in the summer months. It can also be referred to as Cedar Hill milkweed, as it was first described by Dr. Eli Ives in the neighborhood of Cedar Hill in New Haven, Connecticut.
Aphis nerii is an aphid of the family Aphididae. Its common names include oleander aphid, milkweed aphid, sweet pepper aphid, and nerium aphid.
The milkweed leaf beetle is a species of leaf beetle from the family Chrysomelidae. It is round bodied, 8–11 mm in length with a black head and pronotum and bright orange to yellow elytra with variable mottled black patches. It is colored and shaped like a super-sized ladybird beetle even though the ladybird is in a different family, Coccinellidae. The larva is shaped much like the adult except with a small tail extension. Its color varies from bright orange to white with a gray to black pronotum and prominent black spots around its spiracles.
Tetraopes is a genus of longhorn beetles of the subfamily Lamiinae, tribe Tetraopini, containing the following species:
Tetraopes annulatus is a species of beetle in the family Cerambycidae. It was described by John Lawrence LeConte in 1847. It is known from the United States and Canada. Reported feeding on Asclepias sullivantii, A. subverticillata, A. speciosa, A. tuberosa, A. verticillata, A. viridiflorus.
Tetraopes basalis, also known as the western milkweed longhorn beetle, is a species of beetle in the family Cerambycidae. It was described by John Lawrence LeConte in 1852. It is known from the United States. The western milkweed longhorn beetle is most often seen from April to August, feeding on all parts of its Asclepias host plants. Pupae and larvae live in the soil below the plant.
Media related to Tetraopes tetrophthalmus at Wikimedia Commons