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For the blue milkweed beetle, see Chrysochus cobaltinus.

Mating pair
Detail showing bisected eyes

The red milkweed beetle (Tetraopes tetrophthalmus) is a beetle in the family Cerambycidae.

Explanation of names

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).

Host plants

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]

Toxicity

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]

Behavior

These beetles feed by opening veins in the milkweed plant, decreasing the beetles' exposure to latex-like sap.[6]

Mating milkweed beetles on common milkweed. The beetle vibrates when it is making a warning noise.
A red milkweed beetle cutting milkweed vein to reduce/stop latex pressure before feeding beyond the cut.

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]

References

  1. ^ a b Price, Peter W.; Willson, Mary F. (1979). "Abundance of Herbivores on Six Milkweed Species in Illinois". The American Midland Naturalist. 101 (1): 76–86. doi:10.2307/2424903. JSTOR 2424903.
  2. ^ Price, Peter W.; Willson, Mary F. (1976). "Some consequences for a parasitic herbivore, the milkweed longhorn beetle, Tetraopes tetrophthalmus, of a host-plant shift from Asdepias syriaca to A. verticillata". Oecologia. 25 (4): 331–340. Bibcode:1976Oecol..25..331P. doi:10.1007/BF00345606. JSTOR 4215330.
  3. ^ Erwin, Alexis C.; Züst, Tobias; Ali, Jared G.; Agrawal, Anurag A. (2014). "Above-ground herbivory by red milkweed beetles facilitates above- and below-ground conspecific insects and reduces fruit production in common milkweed". Journal of Ecology. 102 (4): 1038–1047. doi:10.1111/1365-2745.12248. JSTOR 24541559.
  4. ^ Christophersen, Megan (April 2014). "Interactions". Tetraopes tetraphthalmus: The Milkweed Dweller. University of Wisconsin La Crosse. Retrieved 13 November 2022.
  5. ^ Felt, Alison (April 2014). "Habitat". Tetraopes tetraphthalmus: The Milkweed Dweller. University of Wisconsin La Crosse. Retrieved 13 November 2022.
  6. ^ a b Felt, Alison (April 2014). "Form and Function". Tetraopes tetraphthalmus: The Milkweed Dweller. University of Wisconsin La Crosse. Retrieved 13 November 2022.
  7. ^ Christophersen, Megan (April 2014). "Reproduction". Tetraopes tetraphthalmus: The Milkweed Dweller. University of Wisconsin La Crosse. Retrieved 13 November 2022.

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