Bug FAQTexas Milkweed Beetle
Tetraopes texanus · Order: Coleoptera · Family: Cerambycidae
The Texas milkweed beetle lives on calcareous grassland soils in northern Mexico and the United States. It feeds on several milkweed species, and adults are most common from early May through June, with only a few remaining later in summer.
Source: Wikipedia
Where it lives
They are found on calcareous grassland soils.
Source: Wikipedia
What it eats
Adults and larvae feed on milkweed species such as green milkweed, greenflower milkweed, and common milkweed.
Source: Wikipedia
Life cycle
Adults emerge in early May and are active through June. Females lay eggs in grass stems; the hatched larvae drop to the soil and eat milkweed roots.
Source: Wikipedia
When you see it
A few adults may still be seen later in the summer, but they are scarce.
Source: Wikipedia
Where it comes from
They occur in northern Mexico and the United States.
Source: Wikipedia
Where it is found in the US
Recorded in 8 of 51 states and DC. Most records: Texas, Oklahoma, Mississippi, Alabama, Arkansas, Kansas, Missouri, New Mexico.
Darker = more records. Counts are museum and citizen-science records, not population size.
Source: GBIF
Status: native in North America; native in United States. Source: iNaturalist
Months it is reported in the US
Source: GBIF
More photos
Questions people ask
When do Texas milkweed beetles appear?
Adults come out in early May and are most common through June, with only a few individuals later in the summer.
Source: Wikipedia
What plants do Texas milkweed beetles use?
They feed on several milkweed species, including green milkweed, greenflower milkweed, and common milkweed.
Source: Wikipedia
Same family (Cerambycidae)
House LonghornHylotrupes bajulusCan damage your home
Asian Longhorned BeetleAnoplophora glabripennisDamages trees, gardens or crops
Red Milkweed BeetleTetraopes tetrophthalmus
White-spotted SawyerMonochamus scutellatusCan damage your home
Red Pine Longhorn BeetleStictoleptura rubra
Spotted Longhorn BeetleRutpela maculataSources
- Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tetraopes_texanus
Look it up elsewhere: GBIF · iNaturalist · BugGuide · ITIS · Wikipedia
Text written 2026-10-25 from the sources above and checked sentence by sentence against them. Data fetched 2026-10-25.