Large milkweed bug

Description:

Adult: overall black and orange - leathery portion of forewing with orange forward-pointing triangle anteriorly, and orange backward-pointing triangle posteriorly, separated by a black band in the middle; membranous portion of forewing black; pronotum black with orange lateral margins; freshly-molted young adults are very pale yellow, their color becoming darker and more orangish with age; adult males have a black band on the ventral side of the fourth abdominal segment; adult females have two black spots in that location. (information from BugGuide)

Habitat:

Parking lot of Fontenelle Nature Center, on a popped open milkweed seed pod.

Notes:

My family was in the van and ready to leave but I was dragging my feet and was poking through the flowerbeds in the parking area. I found this large milkweed bug grooming itself.