Lygaeus kalmii

Lygaeus kalmii, known generally as the small milkweed bug or common milkweed bug, is a species of seed bug in the family Lygaeidae. It is found in Central America and North America.[1][2][3][4]

Small milkweed bug, Lygaeus kalmii
Small milkweed bug, Lygaeus kalmii

Lygaeus kalmii
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Hemiptera
Family: Lygaeidae
Genus: Lygaeus
Species:
L. kalmii
Binomial name
Lygaeus kalmii
Stal, 1874

Subspecies

These two subspecies belong to the species Lygaeus kalmii:

  • Lygaeus kalmii angustomarginatus Parshley, 1919
  • Lygaeus kalmii kalmii Stal, 1874

Lygaeus kalmii angustomarginatus, or the eastern small milkweed bug, has all black wings. Lygaeus kalmii kalmii has white spots on its wings.[5]

Distribution and Reproduction

Lygaeus kalmii angustomarginatus is found in north temperate regions of North America and is not a migratory insect.[6] Only adults overwinter and they do not begin reproduction until the following April. Females are receptive to males in all seasons.[7]

Diet

Small milkweed bugs' primary sources of nutrients are flower nectar and milkweed seeds. If these food sources are limited, they may feed on other insects.[8]

References
  1. "Lygaeus kalmii Report". Integrated Taxonomic Information System. Retrieved 2019-09-24.
  2. "Lygaeus kalmii". GBIF. Retrieved 2019-09-24.
  3. Dellapé, Pablo M.; Henry, Thomas J. (2019). "species Lygaeus kalmii Stal, 1874". Lygaeoidea Species File. Retrieved 2019-07-02.
  4. "Insects Commonly Found on Milkweed 101". Save Our Monarchs. Retrieved 2020-04-02.
  5. Aldrich, J. R.; Oliver, J. E. (1999-06-01). "Pheromones and colonization: reassessment of the milkweed bug migration model (Heteroptera: Lygaeidae: Lygaeinae)". Chemoecology. 9 (2): 63–71. doi:10.1007/s000490050035. ISSN 0937-7409.
  6. Hunt, Linda-Margaret (April 1979). "Observations of the Habits of Lygaeus Kalmii Angustomarginatus (Hemiptera: Lygaeidae) in Southern Michigan". The Great Lakes Entomologist. 12 (Number 1 – Spring 1979): 1–3.
  7. The life of a California population of the facultative milkweed bug, Lygaeus kalmii (Heteroptera: Lygaeidae). 1884.

Further reading
  • Salsbury, Glenn A.; White, Stephan C. (2000). Insects in Kansas. Kansas Dept. of Agriculture. ISBN 9781257845873.
  • Slater, James A.; O'Donnell, Jane E. (1995). A Catalogue of the Lygaeidae of the World (1960-1994). The New York Entomological Society. ISBN 978-0-913-424-16-2.


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