# Swamp milkweed leaf beetle

*Labidomera clivicollis*

A rounded orange and black beetle that cuts the leaf veins before it eats, to drain the latex out of its lunch.

## What it does on milkweed

Milkweed defends itself with latex under pressure, which can glue an insect’s mouthparts shut. This beetle answers by chewing through the veins upstream of where it intends to feed, letting the latex bleed out, then eating the drained tissue. Larvae feed on the same leaves. Adults overwinter under mullein rosettes and other low foliage.

## How to recognize it

A rounded, domed beetle about 8 to 11 mm, glossy orange with irregular black markings. Larger and far more convex than any ladybird, with a black head.

## Where and when

Eastern and central United States, most often on swamp and common milkweed.

## Should you do anything about it?

Leave it. Damage is cosmetic on an established plant, and vein-cutting is one of the best things you will ever watch an insect do.

### Is the swamp milkweed leaf beetle a ladybird?

No, though it is often mistaken for one. It is a leaf beetle, much more domed, with a black head and irregular markings rather than neat round spots.

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Source: https://milkweedusa.com/wildlife/swamp-milkweed-leaf-beetle/ — Milkweed USA, CC BY 4.0.