lily beetle

Yes but they tend to ravage all the leaves before the flower, pick them off and crush them, you can't miss them they are bright red.

 

Yes but they might miss the larvae. I can't see any beetles in my garden at present but I don't think I would have got them all. I am on the look out for new damage because the larvae come next. You can easily mistake them for a bit of dirt or bird poo.

 

Oh, I'm thrilled to have found this thread. My poor lilies have just been emaciated and I had no idea what to do about it.

Will the beetles ultimately kill the plant? Mine are pretty badly eaten- holes everywhere, the poor blossoms look like swiss cheese! I did notice one of these bugs on one today- and wondered if it had something to do with it. I will get rid of them now.

Squeamish though- is there another way of killing/getting rid of them that doesnt involve squishing, etc?

 

I think you need to bite the bullet and get squishing. You can use a spray as I recommended before but lets face it, would you prefer a quick squishing or a long drawn out poisoning if it came to it? I tend to look every day, particularly under the leaves and because i haven't sprayed I squeeze the beetles just enough to crack the case but not squish and then chuck em in the pond for the tadpoles to eat - they love them! If you don't crack the case they swim out and fly back.
The asiatic lilies don't seem to be as badly affected. In mine and my father in law's garden they go for Lilium regale and the tiger lilies but leave asiatics such as Stargazer alone.
Don't just chuck em in the bin, they will climb out. You have to kill them. Its either that or give up growing lilies, fritllaries and any other lily relative.