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Identify please.

dpatel2130dpatel2130 Posts: 201
in Wildlife gardening
Is this bug do any harm to the plants. 

Posts

  • LynLyn Posts: 23,190
    It will do a lot of harm, I think that’s the dreaded lily beetle. 
    Gardening on the wild, windy west side of Dartmoor. 

  • Bee witchedBee witched Posts: 1,295
    Hi @dpatel2130,

    I agree with Lyn ..... some info. here about them.

    https://www.rhs.org.uk/advice/profile?pid=553

    I use diluted neem oil here so don't now have a problem with them.

    Bee x
    Gardener and beekeeper in beautiful Scottish Borders  

    A single bee creates just one twelfth of a teaspoon of honey in her lifetime
  • daffygardenerdaffygardener Posts: 109
    Yep is lovely to look at but has very antisocial habits for its larvae. Best trodden on. They are sneaky little critters as will fall off the plant onto the ground upside down if spotted and the plant shakes when touched. Making them difficult to spot. 
  • DovefromaboveDovefromabove Posts: 88,147
    But beware you don’t confuse it with the Common Red Soldier Beetle ... a gardeners friend as it eats aphids 
    https://www.wildlifetrusts.org/wildlife-explorer/invertebrates/beetles/common-red-soldier-beetle

    😊 

    Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.





  • Guernsey Donkey2Guernsey Donkey2 Posts: 6,713
    As far as I know the lily beetle (if that is what this insect is) has no predators - not even the birds find them tasty and is not a native to the British Islands. 
  • B3B3 Posts: 27,505
    They need a firm pinch to squash them.
    In London. Keen but lazy.
  • Guernsey Donkey2Guernsey Donkey2 Posts: 6,713
    Yes, they certainly do.  I used to fling them over the wall into the field, but next day they had returned.  What is it about lily leaves that draws them back - they are easy to see as their bright red on deep green easily shows up doesn't it.
  • B3B3 Posts: 27,505
    Just dont plant geum mrs Bradshaw near your lilies! A flash of red isn't always a lily beetle. Very frustrating.
    They can fly so you were probably just giving them a bit of exercise.
    In London. Keen but lazy.
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