Red Milkweed Beetles are immediately recognizable by habitat, shape, and color.  They are almost always found on Milkweed Plants, have an extended cylindrical body with long antennae, and are bright red with black spots.  Like the Monarch Butterfly, this species is completely dependent on the Common Milkweed.  The adult and larval forms of the Red Milkweed Beetle feed on the plant, which produces a chemical toxic to birds.  The beetle absorbs the poison and as a result is poisonous.  The bright red color is aposomatic, meaning a warning to predators.  This species is quite common and usually several of them can be found in a Milkweed patch.  They make a grating noise by rubbing together rough spots on the thorax.