Milkweed Bug Lifecycle

Unlike the mealworm, the milkweed bug goes through different life cycle changes:

Egg

Nymph

Adult

Milkweed Bug Lifecycle

Stage 1: Egg● Eggs are laid by the milkweed adult females. ● It takes 4-10 days for the eggs to hatch. ● The warmer the climate, the quicker they will hatch.

Egg

Milkweed Bug Lifecycle

Stage 2: Nymphs● After the milkweed bugs have hatched, they are called nymphs (nimfs).● Unlike the mealworms, the milkweed bugs do not go through a larva

stage. So the nymphs already look like “mini adults.”● The nymph will molt 5 times before it is an adult.

Egg

Nymph

Milkweed Bug Lifecycle

Final stage: Adult● After the 5th molt, the nymph is now an adult.● The entire process of aging from egg to adult takes about 4-8 weeks

depending on the temperature of the habitat.● After being an adult for 1 week, the adults will start mating and

producing eggs to start the cycle over again!

EggNymph

Adult

Check out the next slide to be able to tell the females and males apart!

Adult Male and Female Milkweed Bugs

To tell the difference between a male and female Milkweed Bug, you need to look at the designs on the underside (the bottom) of the adults.

Females:Have 1 black stripe and 2 dots.

Males: Are slightly smaller with 2 black stripes and no dots.