What has got 6 legs, a head, 2 eyes and red wings and  is not a dice game of Beetle. It is the red lily beetle Lilioceris lilii that consumes large quantities of one of our favorite plants.

How to Spot Lily Beetle

• Adults are 8mm long, bright red with a black head and legs.
• Eggs are 1mm long and orange-red, found in groups on the underside of lily leaves and they hatch in around a week.
• Larvae have orange bodies with black heads but are normally covered with their own slimy black excrement.
• The fully grown larvae are 8-10mm long.
• At the pupal stage they lie in the soil.
• Both the adults and larvae can defoliate lilies and fritillaries in short order.
• Leaves get ragged and black gungy deposits can be seen on infected plants.
• The red beetles easily fall off leaves and hide in the soil when gardeners try to remove them by hand.
• The beetle was initially confined to south east England but has spread north.

The Lily Beetle Cycle

• Adult lily beetles emerge from the soil from late March to May and feed on  foliage between May and  September.
• Adults feed and lay eggs on the underside of leaves of host plants from late April until early September.
• After about two weeks, when the larvae are fully grown, they pupate in the soil. Two to three weeks later new adults emerge.
• The beetles overwinter as adults in sheltered places, often in the soil but not necessarily near lilies.
• This non-native pest became established just before the second world war.

Prevention, Predators and Parasites

• Red lily beetle overwinters in soil, leaf litter and other sheltered places so good husbandry can help.
• Small infestations can be picked off by hand. There is some pleasure in squashing a red beetle that has caused your plant so much damage.
• There are some parasitic wasps but probably not enough to help your lilies survive.
• The RHS to which I am indebted for this advice say ‘ Pesticides are likely to be more effective on larvae than adults
• Heavy infestations which are impractical to remove by hand can be treated with pesticides
• Organic insecticides containing natural pyrethrins  Several application of these short persistence products may be necessary to give good control
• Synthetic pyrethroid pesticides such as lambda-cyhalothrin (e.g. Westland Resolva Bug Killer), or deltamethrin (e.g. Sprayday Greenfly Killer) can be used
• The systemic neonicotinoid insecticide acetamiprid (e.g. Bug Clear Ultra) can also be used’
• In my experience it is wise not to expect miracles with chemical treatments and beware they can kill pollinating insects.