False milkweed bug

Lygaeus turcicus

Eats: Plants True bugs and cicadasGardens and meadows6 legs

The false milkweed bug is a black and red seed bug. It looks a lot like the milkweed bug, which is why it is called false. People often mix it up with other black and red or orange bugs.

Lives in

Eastern United States and Canada

Top speed

about 0.2 km/h (0.12 mph)

On foot, estimate

Can it hurt you?

Harmless

Harmless to people.

What does it eat?

It mainly feeds on the seeds of the false sunflower plant.

Photo of False milkweed bug — Picture by Rhododendrites. CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

How fast is it?

A garden snail about 0.05 km/h (0.03 mph)

False milkweed bug about 0.2 km/h (0.12 mph)

A tortoise about 0.3 km/h (0.19 mph)

A person walking about 5 km/h (3.1 mph)

cool stuff

Fun facts

Its favourite food is seeds of the false sunflower, so it has two false things in its life.

It is often confused with the large milkweed bug and the small milkweed bug.

It lives across much of the eastern United States and Canada.

you asked

Most asked questions about False milkweed bug

?Why is it called the false milkweed bug?

Because it looks like the milkweed bug, but it is a different species.

?What does the false milkweed bug eat?

Mostly seeds of the false sunflower plant.

For bug experts

Scientific name: Lygaeus turcicus
Group: True bugs and cicadas
Family: Lygaeidae
Classification: Insecta > Hemiptera > Lygaeidae
Lives on: North America

Where the facts come from

Lygaeus turcicus (Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0): what it looks like, where it lives, what it eats, sizes and fun facts, retold in simple words.
Picture by Rhododendrites. CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons. The sticker of this bug is drawn from this picture.

If we got something wrong, sorry, we are bug fans, not a science journal. Tell us at [email protected] and we will fix it.

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