Red lily beetle of the leaf beetles family is native to certain parts of Asia and Europe but has become invasive in the United Kingdom and some regions of North America. This beetle has an ill-reputation of eating lily plants and causing significant damage to them, hence the name.
Size: 6 – 9mm (0.23 – 0.35 inches)
Color: These beetles have scarlet red elytra, while their antennae, head, legs, and eyes are black.
Other Characteristic Features: They have large eyes, alongcol3 a lean thorax and broad abdomen. Their elytra appear rounded and shiny, while the antennae comprise eleven segments.
The larvae appear orange, brown, or yellow and hatch in a week or two from the eggs laid. They feed for approximately 24 days and mostly eat the leaves’ undercol3s or the nodes in between the meeting point of the leaf and stem.
The pupation period takes place underground, and the adults emerge from the cocoon in 20 days.
The eggs have a reddish-orange or brown color laid in irregular lines on the leave’s midribs.
| Other Names | Scarlet lily beetle, lily leaf beetle, red beetle |
| Adult lifespan | Approximately one year |
| Duration of larval stage | About 24 days |
| Distribution | Native: Europe and Asia Invasive: Parts of North America, North Africa, Middle East |
| Habitat | Temperate regions where lily plants grow |
| Seasons active from | March – July |
| Host Plants | Lilies (true lilies, daylilies, tiger lilies, trumpet lilies), potato, hollyhock, Solomon’s seal |
| Diet of larvae and adults | Leaves, buds, stems, and flowers of their host plants |
The red lily beetle larvae cause the majority of the damage. They eat not just the undercol3s of the leaves but every other part of the plant, including the flowers, stems, and buds. They make big, oval holes at the center and even chew the leaves to such an extent that only the stems remain at the end. Tracking the larvae and destroying them is extremely difficult since they hide under the covering of their excrement.
The adult beetles also eat voraciously, yet they feed less on the foliage. However, they, too, are responsible for spoiling the plants since the females lay most of the eggs on the midribs, causing harm to the tissues.
In a garden in Nova Scotia’s Waverly, the number of lily plants declined from 50 (in 1996) to just 1 in 2006.
Ways to get rid of them
Applying insecticides near the lily plantations is one way to get rid of the red lily beetles. When added near the lilies, coffee grounds have also known to help in deterring the beetles from causing damage. Another way to keep a check on their numbers is by adding floating row covers, as in this way, the adults won’t be able to feed or even lay eggs near the lilies. Spraying soapy water on the grubs or even applying neem oil on the leaves’ undercol3s where the infestation is maximum are ideal ways to kill the larvae.
Image Source: images.glaciermedia.ca, i.pinimg.com, ag.umass.edu, oakleafgardening.com, observation.org, warehouse1.indicia.org.uk, s3.eu-west-2.amazonaws.com, wiscontext.org, warehouse1.indicia.org.uk, oldhousegardens.com, researchgate.net, i1.wp.com
Red lily beetle of the leaf beetles family is native to certain parts of Asia and Europe but has become invasive in the United Kingdom and some regions of North America. This beetle has an ill-reputation of eating lily plants and causing significant damage to them, hence the name.
Size: 6 – 9mm (0.23 – 0.35 inches)
Color: These beetles have scarlet red elytra, while their antennae, head, legs, and eyes are black.
Other Characteristic Features: They have large eyes, alongcol3 a lean thorax and broad abdomen. Their elytra appear rounded and shiny, while the antennae comprise eleven segments.
The larvae appear orange, brown, or yellow and hatch in a week or two from the eggs laid. They feed for approximately 24 days and mostly eat the leaves’ undercol3s or the nodes in between the meeting point of the leaf and stem.
The pupation period takes place underground, and the adults emerge from the cocoon in 20 days.
The eggs have a reddish-orange or brown color laid in irregular lines on the leave’s midribs.
| Other Names | Scarlet lily beetle, lily leaf beetle, red beetle |
| Adult lifespan | Approximately one year |
| Duration of larval stage | About 24 days |
| Distribution | Native: Europe and Asia Invasive: Parts of North America, North Africa, Middle East |
| Habitat | Temperate regions where lily plants grow |
| Seasons active from | March – July |
| Host Plants | Lilies (true lilies, daylilies, tiger lilies, trumpet lilies), potato, hollyhock, Solomon’s seal |
| Diet of larvae and adults | Leaves, buds, stems, and flowers of their host plants |
The red lily beetle larvae cause the majority of the damage. They eat not just the undercol3s of the leaves but every other part of the plant, including the flowers, stems, and buds. They make big, oval holes at the center and even chew the leaves to such an extent that only the stems remain at the end. Tracking the larvae and destroying them is extremely difficult since they hide under the covering of their excrement.
The adult beetles also eat voraciously, yet they feed less on the foliage. However, they, too, are responsible for spoiling the plants since the females lay most of the eggs on the midribs, causing harm to the tissues.
In a garden in Nova Scotia’s Waverly, the number of lily plants declined from 50 (in 1996) to just 1 in 2006.
Ways to get rid of them
Applying insecticides near the lily plantations is one way to get rid of the red lily beetles. When added near the lilies, coffee grounds have also known to help in deterring the beetles from causing damage. Another way to keep a check on their numbers is by adding floating row covers, as in this way, the adults won’t be able to feed or even lay eggs near the lilies. Spraying soapy water on the grubs or even applying neem oil on the leaves’ undercol3s where the infestation is maximum are ideal ways to kill the larvae.
Image Source: images.glaciermedia.ca, i.pinimg.com, ag.umass.edu, oakleafgardening.com, observation.org, warehouse1.indicia.org.uk, s3.eu-west-2.amazonaws.com, wiscontext.org, warehouse1.indicia.org.uk, oldhousegardens.com, researchgate.net, i1.wp.com
