This Forum will close on Wednesday 27 March, 2024. Please refer to the announcement on the Discussions page for further detail.
Lilly beetle
lisa massey
Posts: 252
I was out checking the potted lilies this morning for lily beetles and found none. But when having a quick look at the ones that are still in the garden I found two adult beetles that I squished straight away. I treated all my pots a few weeks back for vine weevil, because I found an infested pot. Will the vine weevil treatment have done in the little red blighters as well or have they just not emerged in the pots yet or not sniffed them out?
0
Posts
Hi lisa, Assuming you used nematodes against the vine weevil grubs, those will have no effect on lily beetle, which overwinter as adults anyway. The only defence is squashing them or spraying the lilies with a systemic insecticide like Provado, which many of us have now stopped doing due to environmental concerns. Unfortunately, these invaders have no natural predators in this country.
Ok Bob, thankyou. Back out on patrol again.
I found another on my fritillary persicaria, squished it! Do they eat all fritillary's? I found one scoffing my snakeshead last year, but so far they've been left alone.
Pretty certain they will munch any lily or fritillary as well as the occasional other plant too, the little blighters!
Worst thing is, they have evolved the knack, when avoiding a 'squish' of turning over as they fall into the soil below, thus presenting their black underbellies as a perfect camouflage with the soil thereby avoiding their predator! Nasty little beggars.
They make me so mad, a poor ladybird nearly got it this morning after the first two discoveries. Wrong time wrong place. Nearly. Red beetle mist
I found one on my Fritillaria Imperialis about a month ago and squidged it, and then, about a fortnight ago like you Lisa, I nearly pounced on a ladybird
but I've not seen any more LBs .......... yet!!! 
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.
I'm fed up with the dreaded lilly beetle so I am going to experiment with wild garlic too fool the little blighters
.