Milkweed Bug (Oncopeltus famelicus)

Andrea gave me this piece of information in his comment and I thought I would add it to the post as it is interesting.


"Do you know the meaning of "famelicus" in latin? It means "the one who always want to eat".



In modern italian is quite similar:famelico,and means exactly the same..."


Thanks Andrea. See his posts of African animals taken during his travels here on this link: Sidecar


Milkweed Bugs (Oncopeltus famelicus) belong to the Lygaeidae family of which here are many types and are medium to large in size.

Oncopeltus famelicus is one of the large species and identified by the orange and black stripes.

Although called a Milkweed bug, it feeds on a variety of other plants as well such as granadilla and sweet potato to mention a few.

The one in the picture above was just emering into its adult form.

They are common and found in most areas except the desert to the east.