Hi amjsunshine, Welcome to The Seed Exchange. Please see addressing newbie and newer member issues for instructions on getting your Member Page email link set up so that you can easily be reached. Sue...aka chemocurl

I believe you are confusing the milkweed beetles with the milkweed bugs. Below I've linked a previous thread on the subject. Here is a link that might be useful: Milkweed seeds no longer viable?

I have been collecting columbine seeds for almost 20 years. I share them with anyone who wants them--I discriminate between short spur and long spur, usually, although this year is different because I am making a "wood land flower" path through the woods, and have mixed some of the short spur into the long spur. THis year, for the first time ever, I have bugs on the seed pods!! THese are tiny beetle-like creatures. Two types. One looks like a tick the color is the same, but these guys when they get on their backs wave their legs in the air. The other type looks to be red headed, with a brown body, and is about 1 mm in size. These bugs have appeared on the drying seed pods and no where else except a paulonia tree that came up as a volunteer.I could spray them on that tree, but I cannot bring myself to spray them on the columbine plants. Any help on this bug problem will be gratefully appreciated.

Hi, Brown pod which rattle is a good sign the seeds are ripe. You normally can tell they are ready because the tops will start to split. The seeds will be shiny and black. Green pods are definitely not ripe and can not be picked. They do not fall out really fast so if you are out there all the time, you will be able to get the seeds. One thing you can do for saving the seeds if you are not out there all the time is to use little organza drawstring gift bags over the seeds pods. the seeds will stay in the bags. I do not recommend putting them straight into plastic baggies as Pippi suggested above. This may reduce germination. Though the seeds are dry to us, there may be residual moisture in them. It is best to let them dry on a plate for at least a week (really large seeds may take longer) to make sure they are truly dry. Then they can be transferred to plastic. As far as freezing now goes, no that really isn't the best idea for this time of year. Once you do that, if it works, you'll have babies trying to grow in the worst weather. It is better to wintersow (Check out the Winter Sowing Forum.) the seeds in pots over the winter. Or if you were planning on having them in your garden somewhere, direct planting them can work. I don't have the best luck with planting seeds directly into my garden. I have much better luck with winter sowing.