You just might mistake our bug of the week for a milkweed bug or a boxelder bug.
It is only colorful orange on the edges, though, hence the name “bordered” plant bug (family Largidae, genus Largus).
Can you see the triangle in the back that is a characteristic of a “true bug“?
This adult also has the wings on the back that are half leathery and half soft and membranous.
Bordered plant bugs are somewhat larger than either milkweed bugs or boxelder bugs.
Bordered plant bugs, as their name suggests, feed on plants like this one sharing a milkweed flower with a queen butterfly.
The youngest nymphs are bright red. The older nymphs are shiny black, sometimes with red markings. Natural History of Orange County, California has some nice photographs of adults and nymphs.
Have you ever seen a bordered plant bug?
