lily beetles - what eats them ? And summer bulbs.
 

delurk
Hello there.

From coupla days persusal of this group I have learned much of interest -
not least I have found the answer to a question that had been forming in my
mind everytime I looked at my lillies in the garden - what was it that red
thing that was eating the hell out of them ? I now discover it is the
dreaded lily beetle. Sigh. Best kiss goodbye to my lillies then.

I see it says on the RHS site that a couple of wasps eat them - any ideas
which ones ? I had a hornet fly down my chimney the other night, and
although I was wary of it (actually I was terrified - an allergic reaction
exists in the family to stings) and had my brave fella trap it in a jar and
take it off down the road to the woods (hopefully if it was a queen looking
to nest she'd prefer it there) - perhaps she might have taken care of the
problem for me. ;-)

I have not as yet used any pesticides in my garden (which I have been
building and tending for the last year and a half) and I'm not nuts about
starting it now.

Also - my fella bought me lots and lots of bulbs for my birthday last year
(October) and we planted them all in the garden (a nice way to spend your
birthday :) ). All the spring ones have come up (they were my responsibilty
so I'm quite pleased) - both in pots and in the ground, but as yet nothing
at all - as in, it looks like a bare bit of ground - is showing of the
summer ones (they were bf's charges). My bf fears the frost may have done
for 'em but wouldn't that have got the spring ones too ? The only difference
that I can tell in the method of planting is that I didn't put mine in so
deep (for which I got frowned at - but I wasn't to know at the time, and
they've showed up fine anyway, so -).
How late can they start showing their faces before we assume something
untoward has happened ? I'm a total newbie to many aspects of gardening so
excuse the ignorance. I don't exactly remember what there is in there but it
was one of these big job lots from a magazine - I got irises, daffs, grape
hyacinth, tulips, anenomes, aliums and so forth in my lot of spring stuff so
I assume the equivalent more common sort of summer bulbs would be in his lot
(if anyone would know what that sort of thing was).

Any pointers would be much appreciated.


Rachael

lily beetles - what eats them ? And summer bulbs.
 

"Rachael of Nex, the Wiccan Rat" wrote in message
...
delurk
Hello there.

From coupla days persusal of this group I have learned much of interest -
not least I have found the answer to a question that had been forming in
my
mind everytime I looked at my lillies in the garden - what was it that red
thing that was eating the hell out of them ? I now discover it is the
dreaded lily beetle. Sigh. Best kiss goodbye to my lillies then.

I see it says on the RHS site that a couple of wasps eat them - any ideas
which ones ? I had a hornet fly down my chimney the other night, and
although I was wary of it (actually I was terrified - an allergic reaction
exists in the family to stings) and had my brave fella trap it in a jar
and
take it off down the road to the woods (hopefully if it was a queen
looking
to nest she'd prefer it there) - perhaps she might have taken care of the
problem for me. ;-)

I have not as yet used any pesticides in my garden (which I have been
building and tending for the last year and a half) and I'm not nuts about
starting it now.


The best thing to do if you spot a lily beetle is to squish it. They fall
off the leaves if you're not careful, so get a bit of kitchen towel, and
catch the beetle in that - it will stop your hands getting all juicy when
you squish the bugs too :-)

It's true that there are a couple of parasitic wasps, but even if you could
get them, they'd be no good unless your lilies were in a greenhouse - the
wasps would just fly away!

Anyway, if you don't like pesticides, check the lilies each day and squish
any beetles you find. I've only found 3 so far, so I hope I've stopped it
in time.

Bob

lily beetles - what eats them ? And summer bulbs.
 

"Bob" wrote in message
...

snip lily bettle woes


The best thing to do if you spot a lily beetle is to squish it. They fall
off the leaves if you're not careful, so get a bit of kitchen towel, and
catch the beetle in that - it will stop your hands getting all juicy when
you squish the bugs too :-)

Ick, yes, I notied they be juicey little devils !


there are a couple of parasitic wasps, but even if you could
get them, they'd be no good unless your lilies were in a greenhouse - the
wasps would just fly away!

I was hoping they might be wasps I could encourage to nest nearby. Which is
saying summat cos I'm abit of a wimp when it comes to flying stingers.

Anyway, if you don't like pesticides, check the lilies each day and squish
any beetles you find. I've only found 3 so far, so I hope I've stopped it
in time.

I saw a couple today and I squished 'em with a trowel (well, cut em in half
might be a better description) - which is usual for me as I am very live and
let live. However, now that I am growing things I have seen the other side
of the coin.
Slugs get the best beer to drown in though.;-)

I musta had four or five of them on the plant till I figured out what they
were. I am considering digging the lily out - I've only got the one, the
poor thing. It's spent houseplant that I put in earlier this year so it is
really getting the hell kicked out of it by these beasties.



Rachael

lily beetles - what eats them ? And summer bulbs.
 

In article , Rachael of Nex, the Wiccan
Rat wrote:

I musta had four or five of them on the plant till I figured out what they
were. I am considering digging the lily out - I've only got the one, the
poor thing. It's spent houseplant that I put in earlier this year so it is
really getting the hell kicked out of it by these beasties.

The other thing to do is to check underneath the leaves. The horrible
larvae, who cover themselves in their own **** as a deterrent, can be
seen crawling around and killed too.

Lazarus

--
Remover the rock from the email address

lily beetles - what eats them ? And summer bulbs.
 

On Fri, 21 May 2004 14:28:18 +0100, Lazarus Cooke
wrote:

The other thing to do is to check underneath the leaves.

Don't wait 'til they are larvae - if you see trails of tiny bright
orange eggs, demolish them then. Much less yucky!

Regards, VivienB

lily beetles - what eats them ? And summer bulbs.
 

On Fri, 21 May 2004 11:42:20 +0100, Rachael of Nex, the Wiccan
Rat wrote:

Also - my fella bought me lots and lots of bulbs for my birthday last year
(October) and we planted them all in the garden (a nice way to spend your
birthday :) ). All the spring ones have come up ... but as yet nothing
at all ... is showing of the
summer ones...


A good many of the "summer" bulbs are fairly tender affairs.
Ixia, babiana, clidanthus, sprekelia, and leucocoryne are
examples.

As for lily beetles, I think it was Brian Mathew who recommended
hiring the young sprats in the neighborhood and paying them a
small sum per beetle captured, subject to a deduction for
trampling or otherwise damaging the lilies.


--
Rodger Whitlock
Victoria, British Columbia, Canada
[change "atlantic" to "pacific" and
"invalid" to "net" to reply by email]

lily beetles - what eats them ? And summer bulbs.
 

In article , VivienB
wrote:

On Fri, 21 May 2004 14:28:18 +0100, Lazarus Cooke
wrote:

The other thing to do is to check underneath the leaves.

Don't wait 'til they are larvae - if you see trails of tiny bright
orange eggs, demolish them then. Much less yucky!

Thanks. I didn't know this. I found two raspberry leaves covered with
tiny orange dots = couldn't work out if it was eggs or some sort of
fungus. could that have been them?

(I destroyed the leaves, just in case)

L

--
Remover the rock from the email address

lily beetles - what eats them ? And summer bulbs.
 

On Fri, 21 May 2004 19:02:46 GMT, lid
(Rodger Whitlock) wrote:

As for lily beetles, I think it was Brian Mathew who recommended
hiring the young sprats in the neighborhood and paying them a
small sum per beetle captured, subject to a deduction for
trampling or otherwise damaging the lilies.

I sat out with a beer watching my lilies one evening in early April:
Got twelve of the buggers.

I have also found them on fritarillary meleagris, and on the chives
that were right next to the Lilies.

Glenys

--
When our schools started teaching the leftist concept of 'provable causal relationships',
Communism gained the upper hand in Vietnam. I think there is a lesson to be learned from that.

lily beetles - what eats them ? And summer bulbs.
 

I wrote:
Don't wait 'til they are larvae - if you see trails of tiny bright
orange eggs, demolish them then. Much less yucky!

On Fri, 21 May 2004 20:25:14 +0100, Lazarus Cooke
wrote:
Thanks. I didn't know this. I found two raspberry leaves covered with
tiny orange dots = couldn't work out if it was eggs or some sort of
fungus. could that have been them?

(I destroyed the leaves, just in case)

I didn't know about the lily beetle eggs until my neighbour showed me
a few days ago! She has lots more lilies and lots more lily beetles :(
than I have.

I can't imagine that lily beetles would lay eggs on rasberry leaves,
but maybe they do if they can't find anything else. Also, I would
expect fungi to attach themselves more firmly than insect eggs, which
just smear off.

Regards, VivienB

lily beetles - what eats them ? And summer bulbs.
 

"Juggs" wrote in message
...
On Fri, 21 May 2004 19:02:46 GMT, lid
(Rodger Whitlock) wrote:

As for lily beetles, I think it was Brian Mathew who recommended
hiring the young sprats in the neighborhood and paying them a
small sum per beetle captured, subject to a deduction for
trampling or otherwise damaging the lilies.

I think my dogs would eat the youngsters *and* the lily beetles *and* the
lilies, but it might work for others. ;-)


I sat out with a beer watching my lilies one evening in early April:
Got twelve of the buggers.

I have also found them on fritarillary meleagris, and on the chives
that were right next to the Lilies.

Glenys

No ! The swines - perhaps that's why my blasted chives are in total
disrepair this year. It would explain alot. Time to move the chive pot I
think.


Rachel

lily beetles - what eats them ? And summer bulbs.
 

In article , VivienB
wrote:

Also, I would
expect fungi to attach themselves more firmly than insect eggs, which
just smear off.

Regards, VivienB

In that case it was fungus. These orange spots were very firmly
attached. But I shall watch carefull the spot where my lilies are due
to come up - if they survived last year's mauling.

L

--
Remover the rock from the email address

lily beetles - what eats them ? And summer bulbs.
 

"Rodger Whitlock" wrote in message
...
On Fri, 21 May 2004 11:42:20 +0100, Rachael of Nex, the Wiccan
Rat wrote:

Also - my fella bought me lots and lots of bulbs for my birthday last
year
(October) and we planted them all in the garden (a nice way to spend
your
birthday :) ). All the spring ones have come up ... but as yet nothing
at all ... is showing of the
summer ones...


A good many of the "summer" bulbs are fairly tender affairs.
Ixia, babiana, clidanthus, sprekelia, and leucocoryne are
examples.


Trouble is, neither of us can remember what is in there. :bemused:


Rachael

lily beetles - what eats them ? And summer bulbs.
 

On Sat, 22 May 2004 16:06:31 +0100, "Rachael of Nex, the Wiccan Rat"
wrote:

No ! The swines - perhaps that's why my blasted chives are in total
disrepair this year. It would explain alot. Time to move the chive pot I
think.

I don't think they eat chives, Rach, although if this is reported by
other people as well, then there is a new phenomenon. They wre on my
chives cos they was night rext to the lilies.

Look for aphids on the chives. If the plant wasn't totally destroyed,
it doesn't hurt to let the insect world have a nibble or ten.

Glenys

--
When our schools started teaching the leftist concept of 'provable causal relationships',
Communism gained the upper hand in Vietnam. I think there is a lesson to be learned from that.

lily beetles - what eats them ? And summer bulbs.
 

On Sat, 22 May 2004 16:06:31 +0100, "Rachael of Nex, the Wiccan Rat"
wrote:

No ! The swines - perhaps that's why my blasted chives are in total
disrepair this year. It would explain alot. Time to move the chive pot I
think.

I don't think they eat chives, Rach, although if this is reported by
other people as well, then there is a new phenomenon. They wre on my
chives cos they was night rext to the lilies.

Look for aphids on the chives. If the plant wasn't totally destroyed,
it doesn't hurt to let the insect world have a nibble or ten.

Glenys

--
When our schools started teaching the leftist concept of 'provable causal relationships',
Communism gained the upper hand in Vietnam. I think there is a lesson to be learned from that.

lily beetles - what eats them ? And summer bulbs.
 

"Juggs" wrote in message
...
On Sat, 22 May 2004 16:06:31 +0100, "Rachael of Nex, the Wiccan Rat"
wrote:

No ! The swines - perhaps that's why my blasted chives are in total
disrepair this year. It would explain alot. Time to move the chive pot I
think.

I don't think they eat chives, Rach, although if this is reported by
other people as well, then there is a new phenomenon. They wre on my
chives cos they was night rext to the lilies.

I'm not sure what the problem with my chives is this year - last year it was
the puppy Jalen eating them just as it really got going (Bindi just
sniffed). But I've moved the pot in case the lily beetles are having a crack
at them. This year part of the garden where the good stuff grows is fenced
off from the hounds too, and they're only allowed in there when I'm
watching.


Look for aphids on the chives. If the plant wasn't totally destroyed,
it doesn't hurt to let the insect world have a nibble or ten.

To be honest, there's not much to the plant at all at the moment, just a few
bladed fronds. :-( It never got to flower last year either. But it smells so
good when it's in full swing !


Rachael