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Bug Habitats and Needs 

Milkweed bugs use bright coloration to advertise their bad taste. They are orange/red for a reason; inexperienced birds that taste their first milkweed bug are unlikely to try to eat another orange and black insect! They have two soft inner wings, which are used to fly. The outer wings present protect the inner wings. The female begins to lay yellow eggs in clusters of 20, a few days after mating. The adult milkweed bugs may live another 2 months after mating and laying eggs. As noted in our evidence 2 the Milkweed bugs use their mouth for sucking.The beak consists of two parallel tubes, one for sending saliva into the food to help digest it and the other for sucking up the mix of saliva and food.
 

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WHAT'S YOUR REASONING!

Physical Characteristics Of Milkweed Bugs

Milkweed bugs as stated in our evidence 3 on the last page go through simple metamorphosis. Milkweed bugs mature from an egg to an adult. Not all insects have a growing larval stage, a resting pupal stage, and a reproducing adult stage; some like the milkweed hatch and grow.  There is no resting pupal stage as in insects that undergo " complete metamorphosis. The large nymph simply molts and away walks an adult milkweed bug. As the bug grows during its 5 nymphal stages the dark wings appear on the backs of the bugs as spots, others start to appear and then develop the characteristic patterns of black and orange, this happens so that the adults can be identified to the correct gender.Milkweed bugs stop reproducing in the fall, as the weather gets cold and milkweed plants die. Another phase that the adult milkweed bugs must so through hibernation( if they have not reproduced) during such weather and use the natural antifreeze in the body to survive the cold months.
 

Stages Milkweed Bugs Go Through

Milkweed plants are the milkweeds bug first choice in a habitat because when the seeds ripen the seed pods open up releasing the seeds which float on fluffy white parasols. Milkweed bugs can be found on seed pods to feed on seeds.Milkweed bugs are one of a small group of insects that have the ability to tolerate the toxic compounds in the milkweed plant. They are therefore important in regulating populations of this plant, similar to bee's job with honey without milkweed bugs there will be no more milkweed plants. It is also important to know that Milkweed bugs have few predators because they concentrate in their bodies bad tasting compounds found in the sap of milkweed plants, this is why they live in the habitat in which they do.



 

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