The Orange Lily Beetle?

[bluelacedredhead]

Does anyone have tigerlillies or Dutch Lillies in their flower beds?
My employer's Mother has had a particularly nasty Orange coloured beetle in her Lillies the past year or so and asked today if I knew of a way to eradicate them?
We wondered about what sort of conditions they thrived on? and what Lifecycle they enjoyed..

She is a very knowledgeable and accomplished gardener...But this seems to have her stumped??

[sweetpea]

What kind of damage did the beetles do? Did they eat the foliage, blossoms, or what? Trying to pin down what it might be.

[nedwina]

The lily beetle is a nasty bug. I have given up on alot of my lillies because of them. Crush them with your fingers, or tip them into a bowl of soapy water- but move fast, and hold the bowl below them, they suddenly let go of the leaf and drop quickly when disturbed.

They don't seem to have any natural enemies. My praying mantids wouldn't eat them, and I've never seen a bird or spider nab one either. Since they are red, they may taste bad.

The larvae are grubs that cover themselves with their own feces. No, I'm not kidding! After a while you'll notice black blobs on the undersides of your lily leaves. Rinse one off and you'll find the grub.

My tiger lillies seem to be able to survive their attacks, but I had to rip out the asiatics.

http://www.uri.edu/ce/factsheets/sheets/lilyleafbeetle.html Some good info here.

[bluelacedredhead]

Sweetpea, thanks for asking, but I think that this pest must be a Northerner since I've asked this question on a few different sites and Nedwina (who probably lives about 6 hours from me) and I are the only two people that know what I'm talking about.

And Thanks Nedwina! She says that handpicking is the only thing that has helped, but as you well know, it doesn't serve to eradicate them. I'll pass the link along to her. Much appreciated. :)