Milkweed bugs are orange and black. They have a long proboscis (rolled up tongue) which they use to pierce seeds to eat. In the wild they like milkweed seeds best, but here they are happy to eat sunflower seeds. Milkweed bugs are one of a small group of insects that have the ability to tolerate the toxic compounds in the milkweed plant. They are therefore important in regulating populations of this plant which can become a weed in some places. They are abundant in the south-eastern United States.