Hi Folks,

Over the last week or so I've been noticing these small red bugs on my
lilies, maybe 1/4 of an inch long if that. I've never seen these ones
before, and unlike last year I've started to get these small holes in
the leaves of the lilies. Something is obviously eating them.

I've taken a picture of the bug in question and was wondering if
someone could ID it:

http://www.netcent.com/private/redbug.jpg

It's pretty small, so this was about as clear I could get with my cam.

Any ideas or suggestions would be appreciated. Thanks!

Doug

It's called a "Lilly Beetle". I discovered them last year when I planted an
assortment of lilies. They'll eat the plant down to the stalk. I got some
soap/ Neen solution last year at the garden center- but it's a battle. You
have to remove all the beetles you can find and soap down the affected
plants. Good luck- I gave up on the lilies- I have many other blooming
plants.

Sonya

"Doug" wrote in message
...
Hi Folks,

Over the last week or so I've been noticing these small red bugs on my
lilies, maybe 1/4 of an inch long if that. I've never seen these ones
before, and unlike last year I've started to get these small holes in
the leaves of the lilies. Something is obviously eating them.

I've taken a picture of the bug in question and was wondering if
someone could ID it:

http://www.netcent.com/private/redbug.jpg

It's pretty small, so this was about as clear I could get with my cam.

Any ideas or suggestions would be appreciated. Thanks!

Doug

Hi Sonya,

On Wed, 18 Jun 2003 00:07:59 GMT, "thoranw" wrote:
assortment of lilies. They'll eat the plant down to the stalk. I got some
soap/ Neen solution last year at the garden center- but it's a battle. You
have to remove all the beetles you can find and soap down the affected

Grrrrrrrrr. Battle!!!!! Argh. Argh. Argh. :-)

Thanks for the quick ID .... gotta go squashing now.


Doug.

Search and destroy Doug, they are a horrible insect w/no natural predators
in the USA.

Where are you located? They are slowly spreading throughout New England
(I'm north of Boston) and I believe they are in southern NH now as well.
THEY SUCK!!!!

It is a huge battle - the adults overwinter in the soil then come out in the
spring to mate and lay eggs (little orange dots on the underside of the
leaves), then the little babies hatch and turn into these mounds on the
underside of the leaves -- turns out they cover themselves in their own poo
to deter predators -- YUCK!!! The larvae seem to suck the life out of the
leaves.

Last I knew the labs are looking into introducing a natural predator, a wasp
of some sort; however they are being careful to see what type of effect this
would have on our native wasps.

Yikes!
LeeAnne

"Doug" wrote in message
...
Hi Folks,

Over the last week or so I've been noticing these small red bugs on my
lilies, maybe 1/4 of an inch long if that. I've never seen these ones
before, and unlike last year I've started to get these small holes in
the leaves of the lilies. Something is obviously eating them.

I've taken a picture of the bug in question and was wondering if
someone could ID it:

http://www.netcent.com/private/redbug.jpg

It's pretty small, so this was about as clear I could get with my cam.

Any ideas or suggestions would be appreciated. Thanks!

Doug

LeeAnne wrote:

Where are you located? They are slowly spreading throughout New England
(I'm north of Boston) and I believe they are in southern NH now as well.

I'm in southern NH and I've got them. Fortunately, I only have three lilies in
my yard. My master gardener reports some clients have claimed to have some
success using Grubex. She also suggested BioNeem(?), but you have to apply it
every three days and we've been getting too much rain of late for that to be
effective.

Hi LeAnne,

On Wed, 18 Jun 2003 11:58:17 -0400, "LeeAnne"
Search and destroy Doug, they are a horrible insect w/no natural predators

They've got one now ... a 6'2, 200lb bad ass that's not fond of any
1/4 inch schmuck eating his lilies! :-)

Where are you located? They are slowly spreading throughout New England
(I'm north of Boston) and I believe they are in southern NH now as well.

I'm a far bit north ... just east of Toronto, Ontario in the burbs.

It is a huge battle - the adults overwinter in the soil then come out in the
spring to mate and lay eggs (little orange dots on the underside of the

I've started to inspect my lillies very closely, once in the morning
and again in the latter part of the afternoon. After the first run I
killed 5-6 of them, and scraped off maybe 2 dozen eggs. Since the
first run though I have yet to see any more, so *hopefully* I've
gotten them all. Will be sure to keep a close eye on them though.


Doug

"Doug" wrote in message
...
Hi LeAnne,

On Wed, 18 Jun 2003 11:58:17 -0400, "LeeAnne"
Search and destroy Doug, they are a horrible insect w/no natural
predators

They've got one now ... a 6'2, 200lb bad ass that's not fond of any
1/4 inch schmuck eating his lilies! :-)

nice to know someone else deffinately doesn't want these things eating their
lilies either. I have Shanadoah, Yellowstone, a georgous yellow trumpet I
got from McClure and Zimmerman and my Dragon lilies that I'd destroy
anything that attacked them! not to mention the red America, Conneticut, etc
Oriental's that come up just after the irises. They also eat Solomon's Seal
of which I have the varigated variety. I kinda freaked when I saw those red
bugs at my other kid's new house Sunday. That's Dandridge, Tennessee and I
was unaware of them making it this far but anything is possible because we
share plants and stuff.

Where are you located? They are slowly spreading throughout New England
(I'm north of Boston) and I believe they are in southern NH now as well.

I'm a far bit north ... just east of Toronto, Ontario in the burbs.

Good gawd, if they can survive a winter in Toronto, what hope do I have here
in mild Eastern Tennessee??? (yer depressing me, Doug............)

It is a huge battle - the adults overwinter in the soil then come out in
the
spring to mate and lay eggs (little orange dots on the underside of the

I've started to inspect my lillies very closely, once in the morning
and again in the latter part of the afternoon. After the first run I
killed 5-6 of them, and scraped off maybe 2 dozen eggs. Since the
first run though I have yet to see any more, so *hopefully* I've
gotten them all. Will be sure to keep a close eye on them though.


Doug

according to Ann who is in the regions of Mass near Boston herself, the
larvae are seriously yucky because of their habit of carrying their feces on
their backs, which is probably why birds won't pick them off. Personally
all that tells me is it's digested plant stuff, so I won't be grossed out.
But I also read the article when I looked it up that they are extremely
voracious. I just hope we haven't gotten them here yet. Makes me weary to
buy lilies that are potted up even! I heard they came over in BULBS!! How
the hell does one let slip bulbs, bare bulbs that have either orange red
eggs around them, or screaming red beetles? I just don't understand. That
tells me someone ain't doing their job is what it tells me......
madgardener off to werk now..........

On Thu, 19 Jun 2003 05:29:28 -0400, "madgardener"
Good gawd, if they can survive a winter in Toronto, what hope do I have here
in mild Eastern Tennessee??? (yer depressing me, Doug............)

I can't say for certain if they did overwinter. I know for certain
that I did NOT have them last year, and this past winter had some
pretty cold days (down to -30 sometimes), so that would be impressive.

They may have found there way into my garden from someone elses in the
neighborhood, originating from a greenhouse (?? shrug).

All it takes is one guy in the neighborhood to bring the insects into
play. Heck, I'm constantly battling weeds thanks to the people behind
me.

My backyard garden runs about 40 feet by 10 feet, along the back line
of the property. The people behind me have one about 1/2 the size, but
they pulled up their plants 2 yrs ago. Since then, their 20x5 garden
- a mere 1ft away on the other side of the fence - is a glorified
weed factory. A flowing sea of weeds, some 12 inches high.

sigh.


Doug.

"madgardener" expounded:

according to Ann who is in the regions of Mass near Boston herself, the
larvae are seriously yucky because of their habit of carrying their feces on
their backs, which is probably why birds won't pick them off. Personally
all that tells me is it's digested plant stuff, so I won't be grossed out.
But I also read the article when I looked it up that they are extremely
voracious. I just hope we haven't gotten them here yet. Makes me weary to
buy lilies that are potted up even! I heard they came over in BULBS!! How
the hell does one let slip bulbs, bare bulbs that have either orange red
eggs around them, or screaming red beetles?

From what I understand, they were *potted* bulbs. What the beetles do
is overwinter in the leaf litter. I remember early last spring I was
out there (it was dry last spring, not soggy, like this spring)
digging around my hostas and lilies and found the little creeps under
the leaves (this was before much had sprouted at all, so they weren't
doing any damage yet). They were slow, but alive, waiting for warmth
so they could start their pillaging again. Grrrrrrrrrrrrr......

--
Ann, Gardening in zone 6a
Just south of Boston, MA
********************************

Doug wrote:

On Thu, 19 Jun 2003 05:29:28 -0400, "madgardener"
Good gawd, if they can survive a winter in Toronto, what hope do I
have here in mild Eastern Tennessee??? (yer depressing me,
Doug............)

I can't say for certain if they did overwinter. I know for certain
that I did NOT have them last year, and this past winter had some
pretty cold days (down to -30 sometimes), so that would be impressive.

I'm near you Doug (Mississauga) and I've had them for 3 years... the
adults overwinter, -30 doesn't seem to faze them...

If you do a Google search for "red lily beetle" there are lots of
information sheets about them and various control methods online.

Hand-picking can be tricky because they are very cunning and drop off
the plants when they sense movement... I use chemical sprays when
necessary on particularly bad areas. I find diligent hunting and killing
in the spring makes for a much easier summer. Often you can find them at
the base of the plants hiding just under the surface of mulch or debris.
At least they're easy to see with that bright colour :-)

You don't want to pussyfoot around with these fellows; they will
eventually strip and kill the lilies if not controlled, and do spread
very rapidly... they are strong flyers. Kill kill kill :-) Good luck.

Rebecca
--
Get the lead out to reply by email.

I live in southern Ontario and I have the same problem "the guy that lives
behind me with the 3ft grass and weeds contributing to a huge mosquito
infestation. (West Nile and all).
It burns my butt every time I am weeding near the back fence and see all the
"crap" coming through not to mention all the insect repellant I have to
wear.

All it takes is one guy in the neighborhood to bring the insects into
play. Heck, I'm constantly battling weeds thanks to the people behind
me.

My backyard garden runs about 40 feet by 10 feet, along the back line
of the property. The people behind me have one about 1/2 the size, but
they pulled up their plants 2 yrs ago. Since then, their 20x5 garden
- a mere 1ft away on the other side of the fence - is a glorified
weed factory. A flowing sea of weeds, some 12 inches high.

sigh.


Doug.