By Somhairle
Renfrewshire, Scotland
I found a rather lovely wee bug on my fritillaria. Anyone any idea what it is...... and if I should worry?
- 27 Apr, 2019
Answers
yes it is the lily beetle. they also use fritillaries as a food plant. catch it and squish it.
look on the lower surface of the leaves for small reddish eggs approx. 2mm long and rub them off. if they hatch they will eat the leaf and becomes a sh***y mess to squish. though the pond fish like them when they have been collected and rinsed clean.
27 Apr, 2019
Nice picture though☺
27 Apr, 2019
Oh no, I was not aware it was a 'pest'. I wish I had learned that earlier when I could have gone back out and caught it. Behind it is a clump of day lillies.
27 Apr, 2019
Hi, don't worry, Hemerocallis, or day lilies are not in the same family, so won't be attacked by this, Derek.
27 Apr, 2019
Oh no...its getting closer all the time!
27 Apr, 2019
If you knock them off, they always fall red side down so you can't find them to kill - grrrr
27 Apr, 2019
I have some Bug Spray in the shed that claims to tackle the wee buggers. So, I gave the fritillaria and the hemerocallis a blast with it. Good to know that the day lilies don't need it - thanks Derek.
27 Apr, 2019
Hi, you're welcome, Derek.
28 Apr, 2019
Hi, that's the dreaded red lily beetle, I believe you can now get an insecticide that will kill them, or you can lift them off and squash them, but be careful when you lift them, as they have a nasty habit of falling off when you try, and they fall on their backs, and having a black underside, are difficult to see when they're on the ground, they also have a disgusting habit of hiding their offspring in their own faeces, on the underside of the leaves, they attack frit's as they're in the liliaceae family, I stopped growing lilies and frits, because at the time there was no treatment for them, Derek.
27 Apr, 2019