Large Milkweed Bug Nymph - Oncopeltus fasciatus
Late instar that are overall orange-yellow and black in color. They have black abdominal spots, orange pronotum with black posterior margin, and black wingpads.
Oncopeltus fasciatus is considered to be a model organism, and is often reared for laboratory experiments. These insects are very easy to rear and handle, have a short developmental time, and high fecundity. When I was in graduate school, I reared these insects and helped conduct experiments to investigate the potential for nontarget effects of entomopathogenic fungi used in the biological control of ticks.
The milkweed bug, "Oncopeltus fasciatus", is a medium–sized hemipteran of the family Lygaeidae. It feeds mainly on grains, particularly those of the milkweed. Like all hemiptera, it feeds through a long mouthpart known as a rostrum. "O. fasciatus" is commonly used in science due to ease of rearing and ease of dissection.
