False Milkweed Bug (Lygaeus turcicus)
(c) Judy Gallagher, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY 4.0 (opens in a new tab) · iNaturalist (opens in a new tab)
True bugsIn Ohio

False Milkweed Bug

Lygaeus turcicus Fabricius, 1803

Kingdom
Animalia
Phylum
Arthropoda
Class
Insecta
Family
Lygaeidae
Genus
Lygaeus
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Range

Where it is recorded

Season shown in 0 of Ohio's 88 counties. Explore Ohio

  • No result yet (35)
  • Recorded, too few records for a result (45)
  • Recorded, season not shown (8)
  • Season shown (0)
Boundaries: U.S. Census Bureau, 2025 Cartographic Boundary Files, 1:500,000. Show as a table
Counties as a table
False Milkweed Bug by Ohio county: records and mapped range
CountyRecords
Adams CountyRecorded, too few records for a result
Allen CountyRecorded, too few records for a result
Ashland CountyNo qualifying records yet
Ashtabula CountyNo qualifying records yet
Athens CountyRecorded, too few records for a result
Auglaize CountyNo qualifying records yet
Belmont CountyNo qualifying records yet
Brown CountyNo qualifying records yet
Butler County34 · Recorded, season not shown
Carroll CountyNo qualifying records yet
Champaign CountyRecorded, too few records for a result
Clark CountyRecorded, too few records for a result
Clermont CountyRecorded, too few records for a result
Clinton CountyNo qualifying records yet
Columbiana CountyNo qualifying records yet
Coshocton CountyRecorded, too few records for a result
Crawford CountyRecorded, too few records for a result
Cuyahoga County39 · Recorded, season not shown
Darke CountyRecorded, too few records for a result
Defiance CountyRecorded, too few records for a result
Delaware CountyRecorded, too few records for a result
Erie CountyRecorded, too few records for a result
Fairfield CountyRecorded, too few records for a result
Fayette CountyRecorded, too few records for a result
Franklin County77 · Recorded, season not shown
Fulton CountyNo qualifying records yet
Gallia CountyNo qualifying records yet
Geauga CountyRecorded, too few records for a result
Greene County20 · Recorded, season not shown
Guernsey CountyNo qualifying records yet
Hamilton County71 · Recorded, season not shown
Hancock CountyRecorded, too few records for a result
Hardin CountyRecorded, too few records for a result
Harrison CountyNo qualifying records yet
Henry CountyRecorded, too few records for a result
Highland CountyNo qualifying records yet
Hocking CountyRecorded, too few records for a result
Holmes CountyNo qualifying records yet
Huron CountyNo qualifying records yet
Jackson CountyNo qualifying records yet
Jefferson CountyNo qualifying records yet
Knox CountyRecorded, too few records for a result
Lake CountyRecorded, too few records for a result
Lawrence CountyNo qualifying records yet
Licking CountyRecorded, too few records for a result
Logan CountyNo qualifying records yet
Lorain CountyRecorded, too few records for a result
Lucas County34 · Recorded, season not shown
Madison CountyRecorded, too few records for a result
Mahoning CountyRecorded, too few records for a result
Marion CountyRecorded, too few records for a result
Medina CountyRecorded, too few records for a result
Meigs CountyNo qualifying records yet
Mercer CountyNo qualifying records yet
Miami CountyRecorded, too few records for a result
Monroe CountyNo qualifying records yet
Montgomery County35 · Recorded, season not shown
Morgan CountyNo qualifying records yet
Morrow CountyRecorded, too few records for a result
Muskingum CountyNo qualifying records yet
Noble CountyNo qualifying records yet
Ottawa CountyRecorded, too few records for a result
Paulding CountyNo qualifying records yet
Perry CountyNo qualifying records yet
Pickaway CountyRecorded, too few records for a result
Pike CountyNo qualifying records yet
Portage CountyRecorded, too few records for a result
Preble CountyRecorded, too few records for a result
Putnam CountyNo qualifying records yet
Richland CountyRecorded, too few records for a result
Ross CountyRecorded, too few records for a result
Sandusky CountyRecorded, too few records for a result
Scioto CountyRecorded, too few records for a result
Seneca CountyRecorded, too few records for a result
Shelby CountyNo qualifying records yet
Stark CountyRecorded, too few records for a result
Summit County42 · Recorded, season not shown
Trumbull CountyRecorded, too few records for a result
Tuscarawas CountyNo qualifying records yet
Union CountyNo qualifying records yet
Van Wert CountyNo qualifying records yet
Vinton CountyNo qualifying records yet
Warren CountyRecorded, too few records for a result
Washington CountyRecorded, too few records for a result
Wayne CountyRecorded, too few records for a result
Williams CountyNo qualifying records yet
Wood CountyRecorded, too few records for a result
Wyandot CountyRecorded, too few records for a result

No mapped range from the range source used, the USGS Gap Analysis Project, which maps land vertebrates only.

Season

When it is recorded

In Ohio

Late March to mid-October, middle week Jul 19–25

Show over the bars
Recording in Ohio · records of all species each week, 1,691,199 in all

Records per week from 702 records in 10 of the 10 years from 2016 to 2025. Shows when people recorded it, not how common it is. The grey bars show how many records of all species were made here each week, so you can see when recording itself was high or low; the season is not adjusted by them.

Recorded on 514 dates. Latest record: December 2025.

Show as a table
Records of False Milkweed Bug in Ohio each week, and records of all species
WeekRecords of False Milkweed BugYears recordedRecords of all species
Jan 4–10216,211
Jan 11–17005,146
Jan 18–24004,645
Jan 25–31004,698
Feb 1–7006,023
Feb 8–14005,888
Feb 15–21005,436
Feb 22–28326,846
Mar 1–7958,321
Mar 8–1410610,384
Mar 15–217412,620
Mar 22–284313,949
Mar 29 – Apr 49519,661
Apr 5–116326,860
Apr 12–1811439,925
Apr 19–258541,623
Apr 26 – May 211656,391
May 3–919852,952
May 10–1610553,785
May 17–2313757,698
May 24–3011654,651
May 31 – Jun 615753,099
Jun 7–1329753,700
Jun 14–2022756,625
Jun 21–2727855,361
Jun 28 – Jul 439958,477
Jul 5–1134861,336
Jul 12–1830764,722
Jul 19–2554969,753
Jul 26 – Aug 127859,416
Aug 2–832759,712
Aug 9–1526855,994
Aug 16–2219754,328
Aug 23–2933751,772
Aug 30 – Sep 522657,167
Sep 6–1225959,075
Sep 13–1928754,543
Sep 20–2611645,860
Sep 27 – Oct 333843,180
Oct 4–1019737,841
Oct 11–1715630,824
Oct 18–249421,156
Oct 25–313319,021
Nov 1–73314,172
Nov 8–148412,621
Nov 15–21117,965
Nov 22–28118,136
Nov 29 – Dec 5226,083
Dec 6–12116,004
Dec 13–19005,423
Dec 20–26005,661
Dec 27 – Jan 2118,459

Reported as an adult

Usually reported as an adult early April to mid-October, middle week Jul 12–18.

From 269 records that are marked as adults. Not every photo is marked with a life stage, so this shows when people reported it as an adult, not when adults are about.

Reported as a larva

No records here are marked as larvae yet, so there is no larva season to show. One needs at least 20 records from 5 different years.

What these results show

These results show when people recorded a species, not when or where it occurs. Missing weeks and low counts do not mean absence or scarcity, and counts are not abundance. Contributed records reflect where, when and what people chose to observe.

Identification

How to identify it

Often confused with

  • Large Milkweed Bug Oncopeltus (Erythrischius) fasciatusOften confused in Ohio: 38 identifications in Ohio named one where the other was meant
  • Asian Lady Beetle Harmonia axyridis38 identifications worldwide named one where the other was meant
  • Goldenrod Soldier Beetle Chauliognathus pensylvanicus22 identifications worldwide named one where the other was meant
  • Red Milkweed Beetle Tetraopes tetrophthalmus10 identifications worldwide named one where the other was meant

From iNaturalist’s similar-species counts, refreshed monthly: confusions in Ohio first, then worldwide. Only species with an Ohio result are listed.

Land cover where it is recorded

Land coverIts recordsAll Ohio records
Developed64%49%
Forest19%31%
Farmland14%11%
Wetland2%5%
Grassland and shrub0.5%0.9%
Open water0.3%3%

From 374 records placed within 100 m, beside all Ohio records placed the same way. People record where they go, so this shows where records come from, not where the species lives. Land cover: USGS Annual NLCD, 2025 (opens in a new tab)

Sources

Where these results come from

  • Records from iNaturalist research-grade observations and expert-identified GBIF datasets, CC0, CC BY and CC BY-NC. Sources
  • Seasons use the published method and its evidence thresholds. Methods
  • See it on iNaturalist (opens in a new tab)OpenPhenology is independent and not affiliated with iNaturalist.

Records behind the Ohio result

702 records from 2 datasets.

To cite: the GBIF download doi:10.15468/dl.y2jkt8 (opens in a new tab).

A spreadsheet (CSV) with a link to each record, on iNaturalist or GBIF. Records whose location was hidden by the observer or the source are counted but not linked.