I was training our grapevine and came across what for me was a large beetle. It was red, and a couple of fellow gardeners were warning me it could be a Lilly beetle, that is a scourge in the UK. But discovered thru WIKI its a Milkweed beetle.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tetraopes_tetrophthalmus
Here's the lily beetle
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lily_Beetle
Milkweed is the coolest plant. It's the life platform for so many insects, has a beautiful flower, lasts all season, and I can even smell it. The boss will tell you this is amazing since my lack of olafactory sense is legendary.
Last year we saw almost no monarch activity in our yard, this year we had a couple of caterpillars per plant. There's also a brown/yellow/blue butterfly that's ominpresent. I think its a type of swallow tail, but I haven't figured it out yet.
