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Unusual orange / red bug on my cosmos

cathy.jocathy.jo Posts: 3
in Problem solving
Can anyone help me identify this bug which seems to be mating all over my recently purchased cosmos plant. I had bought it , left it in the wheelbarrow and noticed this evening it was covered in these wee chaps !!
Many Thanks for advice 
Cathy

Posts

  • cathy.jocathy.jo Posts: 3
    PS I found this photo on the internet as my photos came out blurry. Although I found the photo on the internet after searching “ Orange/ Red bugs on cosmos “ the article it was attached to was in Spanish so couldn’t find the name but this is exactly what it looks like 😁
  • FireFire Posts: 19,096
    edited July 2018

    They favour asteraceae, among others. 



  • wild edgeswild edges Posts: 10,497
    Soldier beetle, it's a cover-all name for a few similar looking species. They're one of the good guys in the garden as they like to snack on aphids (when they're not shagging on your flowers, which they seem to do non-stop).
    If you can keep your head, while those around you are losing theirs, you may not have grasped the seriousness of the situation.
  • wild edgeswild edges Posts: 10,497
    lol I think bonking beetle is my new favourite bug name. :D
    If you can keep your head, while those around you are losing theirs, you may not have grasped the seriousness of the situation.
  • granmagranma Posts: 1,933
     :o:D  
  • cathy.jocathy.jo Posts: 3
    Thanks everyone ! 😁
    Glad to know theyre not harmful to the plant ! Id never heard of “ the bonking beetle “ before 😂😂😂
  • Papi JoPapi Jo Posts: 4,254
    edited July 2018
    wild edges said:
    Soldier beetle, it's a cover-all name for a few similar looking species. They're one of the good guys in the garden as they like to snack on aphids (when they're not shagging on your flowers, which they seem to do non-stop).
    Those lovely 'bonking beetles' regularly come to my garden in July. They are fond of my roses, and many other flowers. Yesterday I spotted them having a threesome on a specimen of Eupatorium cannabinum (hemp-agrimony) but did not have my camera at hand.

    Here's a pic of a foursome  :o I took some years ago in the countryside


  • FireFire Posts: 19,096
    Wow, they really are always bonking! Every photo, every moment.
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