Eastern Boxelder Bug

Last April along the Raritan River Greenway I saw a bunch of bugs on some of the greenery [1]. And while "bug" is sometimes used to refer to pretty much any arthropod from lobsters to millipedes to ants, I'm talking about the true bugs when I say this [2].

Being black and reddish orange bugs, they look a little like the milkweed bugs (Large, Small, and False), these Eastern Boxelder Bugs skew much more black than orange than you'll see with the milkweed bugs. Though I don't think their Western Boxelder Bug cousins live around here, they can be differentiated by the red veins on the otherwise black wings of the westerners. 

These bugs can congregate together conspicuously because they smell and taste bad, keeping them safe from abundant predators like birds. They're another example of aposematism, where their black/orange color is an eye-catching signal that these guys taste bad.

Their named after their favorite tree to feed on, Boxelder trees. They're also happy with other maples (Boxelder trees are basically a maple with weird leaves) and ash trees.
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April 24, 2023 at the Raritan River Greenway
Photo 272680506, (c) jpviolette, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC)


April 24, 2023 at the Raritan River Greenway
Photo 272680699, (c) jpviolette, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC)


[1] It was probably Japanese Knotweed.

[2] Though this is a much narrower definition of bug, the true bugs aren't exactly a tiny group. Besides the boxelder bugs and milkweed bugs, cicadas and aphids are very commonly seen/heard bugs.

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