Swamp Milkweed and Milkweed Assassin Bug

from wilkipedia: milkweeds are an important nectar source for bees and other nectar seeking insects, and a larval food source for monarch butterflies and their relatives, as well as a variety of other herbivorous insects (including numerous beetles, moths, and true bugs) specialized to feed on the plants despite their chemical defenses. milkweed is named for its milky juice, which contains alkaloids, latex, and several other complex compounds including cardenolides. some species are known to be toxic.

carolus linnaeus named the genus after asclepius, the greek god of healing, because of the many folk-medicinal uses for the milkweed plants.

from: www.ionxchange
asclepias incarnata has been cultivated for food uses. some american indian tribes added the flowers and bulbs to soups, some used the flowers stewed and served almost like preserves, immature pods were often cooked with buffalo meat and still others used the immature flower clusters and fruits as a cooked vegetable.

medicinally, the ground root of this species was used to induce temporary sterility, tea made from the root was used to "expel internal parasites" and the ground seeds were used in a poultice to draw the poison from a rattlesnake bite. the sap was rubbed on warts to make them disappear. the rappahannocks even used the sap to cure ringworm.

during wwII, the sap of the milkweed family plants were used experimentally to provide a rubber substitute. The silk produced by the seed pods was also used as a substitute for kapok in flotation devices for many years.

all the best.