Red Lily Beetle

Is any one else suffering this year from this prolific little beast. I've been clear for years, but this year I have been 'invaded'. short of picking them off and crushing them I don't know what to do. I'm not keen on spraying chemicals all over the place.





As you see they affect the whole plant gardually. In the pic below you can see the beetle and the lavae, which have the disgusting method of keeping safe from predators by covering themselves in their own excreta to make themselves look like a bird dropping.

 

JR, they wont hurt you, pick them off and stomp on them.:thumb::D

 

Yep, stamp on those little blighters ! :D

 

Hi all, The beetles don't survive frosts but the pupae overwinter underneath the soil near the lilies. They are quite hard to spot so I try to replace the top layer of soil either in Autumn or early Spring, before the adults emerge. They don't get down to the bulbs. Then in spring as the lilies start growing I give them a quick burst of Provado- I don't like chemicals either but these smart red beetles can be very prolific and will quickly decimate lilies. As they're not native they don't have many predators. After that it's easy to pick off the beetles on a daily basis, check for eggs, and if I find any larvae I spray them off with the hose, like blackfly.
I never knew about these beetles when I lived in Cambs, and I transported mine with my Aunties lilies from Shropshire when she died. Next Spring the plants were inundated with the beetles!
Here's a good article about them:
http://www.rhs.org.uk/Learning/Research/Projects/lily_beetle.htm