Resident Gardener Blog # 3

I love lilies in the garden. They bloom at all different times and provide color from spring to fall. The sad part of having lilies is that an insect originating in Asia and Europe, has devoured most if not all of my lilies for several years. It wasn’t until last summer that I found a solution.

Liloceris lilii is the Latin name of this red beetle. It is a leaf chewer that lays its orange/red eggs on the underside of the lilies leaves in lines and as they grow eat everything of the plant including the flower bud, and then fall to the ground where they pupate into adults to eat again. The larvae cover themselves with their own fecal matter so appear to be black on the leaves. I tried picking the beetles, dish soap, neem oil, and eventually removing the plants. The insects have a black stomach so if you miss catching them and they fall, they are hard to see. For more tips on how to deal with this register your garden for access to exclusive information.