lily beetle

just found lily beetle on my fritillaria for the first time :( , there was also one on an iris so i'm guessing they like them as well. but does anyone know whether they will go for tricyrtis? they are one of my favourites and known as toad lilies so......

 

They will sometimes have a wander on plants which aren't of the lilium family, but won't do more than a brief nibble. It's the larvae that do most of the damage, and the beetles will only lay eggs on members of the lily family so you should be OK.

 

Bad news i am afraid tricyrtis ARE in the lily family. So if they eat Fritillaria ,which they love, then they are just as likely to munch your toad lilies.
I find that they start with my fritillaries, and then move on to the true lilies. They do have preferences, they seem to prefer Lilium tigrinum and Lilium regale to the asiatic hybrids in my garden. Every day I do a visual check on any likely targets. You have to sneak up on them, postion your hand under because they will drop when they sense you. Destroy all you can find. Later I look for signs of damage by the larvae and then spray.

 

Sorry ! I didn't know tricyrtis were members of the lily family. I must have been lucky so far as they have only been eating lilies, not my friillaries or tricyrtis.
My new fact for today!

 

I position a jamjar beneath the offending lily beetles, then knock them off into it, decant onto the path and STOMP 'EM. It's the only way, otherwise they will defoliate your lilies, or frits.

 

But is this a Lily beetle? It did none of the things they are supposed to do when I disturbed it and we have no damage on any of our numerous lilies. Yet!

 

Hi, I think this might be a Cardinal beetle:
http://www.bugsandweeds.co.uk/beetles.html#Cardinal
Lily beetle has a black head. This one seems to be relatively harmless! There is also another red beetle called the Soldier beetle, but it's more of a browny red.

 

Thanks. I reckon you are right. Much obliged, glad I let it live then.

 

This is lily beetle



A bit more shiney than yours. I am suprised that you have not got them seeing as you live not far from me. Perhaps like everyone else they got lost trying to find their way across Whixall Moss. :D

 

They haven't reached round here yet, nobody else I know has them. I imported them into my garden with some lily bulbs from my Aunties ' garden in Shropshire, which I took when she died. I was most astonished at the smart red beetles that appeared in the Spring! When my lilies started being eaten I investigated....
I used to live near Cambridge, and never saw one there. I wonder if there's a map anywhere of their progress?

 

You did not neccesarily import them from Shropshire. You first notice them on a hot day in spring when the adults probably fly in. They started on the South coast and have gradually migrated North. I think I first had them about two years ago. I don't think i had many survive last year because i had a pretty through eradication campaign but i have found more in recent days than ever before because they must be just flying in from other gardens.

 

Well, I just had a walk around the lilies and there is no damage on any of them ,so perhaps with our colder temps than in town they have not arrived here, yet. No doubt they will.

 

No they are just rubbish at map reading. Rumour has it that a delivery driver went into whixall two years ago and hasn't been seen since!

 

Is this lilly beetle damage????

 

Yes it does look like that. If you cannot see the beetles (you have to creep up on them otherwise they jump off and land upside down so you can't see them) then look for the larvae. These look disgusting because they cover themselves with their own excrement. It may be that you need to use a spray. Provado do one that kills lily beetle.