Host plants for the lily beetle

With digging around for information on the lily beetle I came across information on host plants. It seems that lilies (lilium sp.) and fritillaria sp. are not the only plants that the lily beetle will go after. The lily beetle will also feed off of Lily of the valley (Convallaria majalis) and Solomon's seal (Polygonatum multiflorum). So if you are growing lilies it might be a good thing to take a look at these other plants if you grow them in your garden as well. I also wonder about the other plants that are closely related to the lily and fritillaria. I have not seen any mention to date about whether the lily beetle will feed off of cardiocrinum sp. and nomocharis sp. These two groups of plants are very closely related to the lily and a few of them have been mixed up and classified as lilies in the past. It would be very interesting to find out if the lily beetle does feed and damage these plants as well. The University of Guelph in Guelph Ontario covers some of the host plants in their article by their Pest Diagnostic Clinic and has a few very good photos of the beetle in its different stages.

John Rempel pamphlet for Manitoba

John Rempel of Manitoba, a member of the Manitoba Regional Lily Society, has forwarded me the information he has work on and put together about the Lily Beetle. He has given me permission to share this pamphlet here.

Life Cycle of the Red Lily Beetle (Lilioceris lilli)
(With suggested Controls)
Over wintering adult beetles emerge in early spring from the surrounding soil to mate and lay 200 to 400 eggs on the underside of the leaves of the lily plant.

Handpick the adult beetles (6-8 mm ¼ inch in length) as soon as they appear on the emerging lilies.

Dust with Rotenone powder. (Remains effective for 2-3 days).
Spray the adults with Sevin, Malathion .

Destroy the egg cases on the underside of the leaves. Eggs are in yellow/orange clusters or in irregular rows. The eggs are quite small, approximately 1 mm.
Eggs usually hatch in about 7-10 days.

Emerging larvae will begin feeding on the underside of the leaves and then move to the top. This stage lasts for about 16-24 days. They will cover themselves with their own feces to discourage predators.

Remove the larvae. Can be very messy. Use rubber gloves.

Dust or spray with Rotenone .
Spray the larvae and the underside of the leaves with Neem Oil at 5-7 day intervals throughout the season. Neem is ineffective on adults.
Spray with Sevin or Malathion.

Larvae drop to the ground and pupate for about 20-25 days. Pupae cases are dark brown or black in color and very hard to find in the soil.
Stir up the soil and apply Rotenone dust to the soil or try Diatomaceous earth. A suggested alternative is to try coffee grounds around the base of the plants.

Emerging adults climb plants and feed until fall but do not normally mate or lay eggs until spring.
Handpick adults.
Dust with Rotenone.
Spray with Sevin, Malathion .

Adults over winter in the surrounding soil or under plant debris. Some adults may survive over two seasons. Stir up the surrounding soil or the mulch in early spring and kill any emerging beetles before they have a chance to lay their eggs.

Note: The lily beetle has no known natural enemies in Canada. It is up to each gardener to check their lily plantings at least weekly for signs of the beetle. Because the beetles are strong fliers and can move around the neighbourhood, inform your neighbours and help them to control this pest. The beetles have been reported 60 km east and west of Portage la Prairie as well in eastern Winnipeg from North Kildonan to St.Vital.

Note: All information in this article has been obtained from various sources on the Internet. Use your own discretion in controlling beetles on your property and use only the methods that you are comfortable with. All organic or chemical pesticides should be handled as directed by the manufacturer. There are no pesticides specifically registered for use on lily beetles in Canada.

Neem is not registered for sale or use as a pesticide in Canada

A Breif description by The RHS

The Royal Horticulture Society in the United Kingdom has a great page on their web site about the lily beetle. The photos in the article show very well what the lily beetle looks like. Down near the bottom of the article is a map showing how much the Lily beetle has spread and how dense the population has become. From looking at this map of the lily beetles progression it gives us an idea of what can happen in our areas across Canada and on the prairies. In Alberta we have been relatively luck so far with only minimal reports of the lily beetle starting to emerge. If all of use keep an eye out and start reporting the lily beetle we can control it well before it can take hold. For a look at the Royal Horticulture Society information page you can follow this link Scarlet Lily Beetles in the UK.
If you have any photographs of the lily beetle please send them in. We would love pictures of the adult lily beetles, the larva, and the eggs to better help everyone identify the lily beetle.

A green control

Phil Reilly in Ottawa Ontario has some interesting information about using Neem oil to control the lily beetle. This is one safe product that can be used for control of the larva as it seems not to harm the adult beetles. This is one of hopefully many options for controling the lily beetle. Phil Reilly runs and owns Reilly’s Country Garden.

Hello and Welcome

We are on the look out for the Lily beetle. We are lily lovers and growers from Alberta and would like to invite any and all lily growers across Canada to join in. We have started this blog to gather information, share information and search for the lily beetle. Our goal is to make people more aware of this pest that can damage lilies and spread at a steady pace. We hope to be able to show you what to look out for, control methods, and try and map out where the lily beetle is in Alberta and the prairies of Canada. We hope you can join us in our research and hunt for the lily beetle (Lilioceris lilii).