Lily Beetle

@Kristen

If you grow lots of them, the warm days have wafted lily smell to inform all the beetles in the area you have them growing , so all have been flying in, otherwise its the ones from last year hatching out of your soil. If I am correct certain varieties of lily get attacked more than others , but its a very popular plant to grow and easy to get hold off now, before I had to send away to them now even the £1.00 shops have them.
Try spraying one with garlic and see if that deters them ?

Spruce

 

I think Orientals are more prone than Asiatics, but that's just a hunch based on unscientific observations.

 

I would listen to people on here with hands on information rather than a scientist

 

interesting reading

A major part of a recently completed PhD research project investigated the beetle’s odour-mediated behaviour. Such research is vital if the aim of developing a control of the beetle utilizing odours (volatile chemicals) to which the beetle responds to is to be developed.

Results from the experiments indicated that in the spring female beetles are able to locate lilies by odour alone, and that the beetles preferentially move towards the odour of plants already infested with other beetles. This part of the work was published in 2012 - Salisbury, A., Cook, S.M., Powell, W. & Hardie, J. 2012. Odour-mediated orientation behaviour of the lily beetle (Lilioceris lilii). Physiological Entomology 37:97-102

 

That kind-of figures. It would explain why some pots get eaten to bits while others remain untouched. And lily beetles do seem to be rather ... gregarious.

 

I have some narrow-leaf ones that don't seem to be attacked at all.

I don't think I have a lot . Say 3 - 5 in each clump and probably 10 clumps.

But I have 150 or so which I grew from seed last year (L. regale) coming on in pots, and I took a few scales off the ones I bought and they are growing on, so should be ready for planting out this Autumn. So next year I don't want any Lily beetles please hence keen to Do Battle this year.

I think the thing that went wrong last year was the later wave - they decimated the foliage long after flowering (when I had stopped checking). Maybe they laid and have now hatches.

 

I get plagued with them and I barely grow any Lilies! They attack all my Fritillaries and are rather partial to my Tricyrtis too (unless I get to squish them that is).