The red milkweed beetle is a longhorn beetle that actually lives on and eats milkweed.
Milkweed longhorn beetle also known as red milkweed beetle (Tetraopes tetrophthalmus), in Scarborough, Ontario. It was actually sitting on milkweed.
The bright coloration is a warning to would be predators, that just like the Monarch butterfly, the Milkweed longhorn beetle is poisonous.
Further Readings:
Eastern Milkweed Longhorn Beetle (Tetraopes tetrophthalmus).
Red Milkweed Beetle on bugguide.net.
Tetraopes tetrophthalmus on Wikipedia.
Red Milkweed Beetles.
Red Milkweed Beetle on bugguide.net.
Tetraopes tetrophthalmus on Wikipedia.
Red Milkweed Beetles.
Last updated: September 1, 2015