Mark Sturtevant wrote:
Its the larva of a Chrysomelid beetle (i.e., leaf beetle). Something like this: https://bugguide.net/node/view/893667 . They are plant eaters. I am sort of wondering if it is parasitized, since the color is pretty strange.
Thanks Mark. I followed your BugGuide link and then went up one level and found this, which looks more like the larva in my image: https://bugguide.net/node/view/837718. I can't say for certain that it was on a milkweed plant, but I was in an area where that's the overwhelming vegetation.