Scottish Rock Garden Club Forum
Cultivation => Cultivation Problems => Topic started by: derekb on April 03, 2009, 06:41:37 PM
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Found the first RED DEVIL to day on a Frit leaf in Alpine House.
Derek
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My condolences, Derek, best of luck in the battle to come. :-X
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Maybe I found a solution.
I have an Asiatic lily in a flower bed and he had never been attack by the Lily beatle.
After 6 summer and 4 winter, I think it is a record.
And I did not win the fight with that beatle on the L tigrinum in an other flower bed.
Last week I saw Thyme around that Lily. I think it is T serpyllum ,but I'm not sure.
Bernard Morin
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Bernard, I believe yours is a useful observation. It is said that Thyme can be a preventative for attack by pests for various crops..... because of the scent of essential olis, so this may be a good companion planting to try round precious lilies. :) 8)
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I hope so, Maggi.
I will try around my L tigrinum, and if the beatles move, I will come back to lilies gardening.
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Maggi not sure if this is the answer or luck but after posting the first post I watered all lillies with Provado vine weevil killer and have not seen any more.
Derek
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That is good news, Derek, hope it lasts ;) They may be teasing you, the evil little devils!!
It would be more environmentally friendly to be able to utilise pretty companion plants as a deterrent, though and I think it is worth a try.
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I hope it lasts too Derek, I did this last year and had to repeat three times during the year. This year I have had far fewer and have been able to just pick the blighters off. Be vigilant, but hopefully you have solved the problem.
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Unfortunately it seems they feed on non-bulbous Liliaceae as well, I've found them munching on both Smilacina stellata and Streptopus lanceolatus v. roseus :P
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They are also said to favour fritillaria. They are on the move northward and westward in North America - I'd never seen one before this year, but have found (and squashed!) 4 this year.
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Hello Derek
For 2 years I had a serious problem with lily beetle. Sometimes my lilies took on the look of holly in berry. A nursery man told me to use Provado Ultimate Bug Killer Concentrate in a blue container. After the first spray nothing seemed to have changed untill I touched the liliies and the beetles all fell away legs in the air. Since then if I see one I just apply a preventative spray and that cures the problem.
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I had used scent oils (one drop of lavendula oil and one of Japanese mint oil in half a litre water, I will look for thyme this coming year)
I sprayed twice a week on the green buds from May to June, against the lily flie. It seemed to have effect on the beetle population too. There were only very few beetles this year. I don't remember when they did appear. 2010 I will spray throughout the growing season and keep record about any damage on my lilies.
Usually there are a lot to kill every year, especially larvae.
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Hello Derek
For 2 years I had a serious problem with lily beetle. Sometimes my lilies took on the look of holly in berry. A nursery man told me to use Provado Ultimate Bug Killer Concentrate in a blue container. After the first spray nothing seemed to have changed untill I touched the liliies and the beetles all fell away legs in the air. Since then if I see one I just apply a preventative spray and that cures the problem.
It sounds like the answer to every woman's prayer. 8)
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I don't know this Lily beetle(maybe thats a good thing)although i at times I get flowers that are misformed I have not seen any red beetles.Do they only live in the north or do we also have them in the south any body know.bye Ray
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Ray,
Northern hemisphere only, thank god. Used to plague my lily beds when I was in the UK. Active early in the season, and surprisingly good cryptic behaviour - disturb the foliage and they're down on the ground with only their dark bellies showing. I admired them even as I killed them.
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Certainly I've never seen anything like them here but then, I have relatively few lilies compared with many people, and only species. I guess if they're only in the northern hemisphere we have to admit that there is method in the particular madness that is MAF's determination to keep out as much as possible.
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I have relatively few lilies compared with many people, and only species.
If they were in the SH and you're growing no Lilies, they would be happy to devour your Frits Lesley .... :o ;D ;)
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At work we sometimes use Thymol (a thyme derivative, obviously) for preservation of rainwater samples in collectors out in the field. Just a few crystals (it isn't very soluble) in the bottom of a collector and it will then suppress most biological activity in the water until we can collect it for analysis. It is pretty impressive stuff (look it up on wikipedia) and has found lots of uses including as an acaricide. We are now ,however, discouraged from using it as it is suspected mutagen in its concentrated form. My point is that I can see the likelihood of thyme and its oil being a very effective tool for gardeners, even if just as a disinfectant.
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Well the weather has been balmy today - 5 degrees and so I did a little more clearing of stuff so I can see the snowdrops 8)
However I am horrified to report the first sighting of an adult Lily Beetle of the year, sadly she is no more ;)
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However I am horrified to report the first sighting of an adult Lily Beetle of the year, sadly she is no more ;)
Sadly? ???
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However I am horrified to report the first sighting of an adult Lily Beetle of the year, sadly she is no more ;)
Sadly? ???
Brian, while I do understand Lesley's scepticism, I applaud your gentlemanly reporting. ;)
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Why don't people like this species?
The young look so appealing ::)
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Oh my God!
Are these really the young. I reckon they look more like the droppings. (We don't have lily beetles here.)
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The larvae cover themselves with droppings.. the clever little beasties. I had never seen lily beetles here before last summer, but last summer, I saw (and dispatched) 4.
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We don't have lily beetles here.
And you certainly don't want them Lesley...I might move ;)
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Lily Beetles have been here for 2-3 years, before that I didn't see them. No more Lilies for me, it also seems to mean no more Fritillaries. It is possible to manage them manually, or even to treat with systemic insecticides, but its an effort that I'll save for my favourite plants.
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We have them here, which is no great surprise as I imagine we are within their native range. We have had them in the garden and spray the Lilium and Fritillaria with Provado when we find the first one. We have seen them do some damge to wild Lilium martagon in the local woods, but I presume they must have a natural predator here as the damage never appears that bad.
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this 'beauty' relishes also the delicious Allium schoenoprasum... unfortunately!!! May that awful beetle perish...SOON!!
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Had my first too last summer - on Lilium martagon. Bad news that they also like Alliums.... :(
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yes they are some beasts, but on the other side so I am forced to watch them a few times a day during the season and may in this context really enjoyed my lilies, so nothing is so bad that it is not good for anything - When they are part of the garden ;)
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I've just come across this thread, and thought Lesley ought to see the adults in full, glorious colour. We've had them here in Newcastle for 2-3 years (climate change? >:( ), and I saw them in the 'wild' last year on Lilium bulbiferum in Switzerland. I wonder what their predators are there....
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Thank you Peter. I won't say you've made my day though. I'm assured I'm lucky we don't have this in New Zealand (yet) and hopefully for once, MAF will be effective in keeping it out. But you have to admit it's a very handsome creature. 8)
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I've just come across this thread, and thought Lesley ought to see the adults in full, glorious colour. We've had them here in Newcastle for 2-3 years (climate change? >:( ), and I saw them in the 'wild' last year on Lilium bulbiferum in Switzerland. I wonder what their predators are there....
We have had them in Mid-Sweden for at least ten years so I doubt that it is the climate - at least in your place.
It seems that the do not like all lilies equally well. Hansonii is a favourite. Maybe it is because they overwinter in the topsoil and Hansonii is the first one up, martagon closely following. Superbum is another favourite and can become eaten to the stalk.
I do not know anything about predators but it seems that my martagons - including escapees on which I never kill any beetles are not so severely affected as superbum are.
I have never seen them on the small Chinese - nor on Fritillaria meleagris and other narrow leaf ones - Fritillaria camtchatkensis will be eaten however.
Good hunting!
Göte
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When I first discovered lily beetle in the garden three years ago it was on an auratum but then I found it had completely decimated the frit meleagris and has been on them the last two years.
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They absolutely looooove Frit. imperialis ... >:( >:(
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When I first discovered lily beetle in the garden three years ago it was on an auratum but then I found it had completely decimated the frit meleagris and has been on them the last two years.
Tony - Here they eat about 50% of the leaves of the Fritillaria meleagris. Their absolute favourite is the white Lilium martagon which they decimate and then move on to the regular martagon. Wretched things they are and an hour can fly by squishing them.
johnw
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Have we got different clones of beetles???
Göte
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I've only seen the orange one as pictured Göte !
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I've only seen the orange one as pictured Göte !
Here they are a no aspologies red, no orange.
johnw
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I've only seen the orange one as pictured Göte !
I mean with different culinary preferences. ;D
Göte
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There's a nice article on lily beetles (and their predators) which you can download as a pdf on the North American Lily Society website.
(under publications > sample articles).
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I find that Heliamphora is a perfect natural predator.
If I squeeze the beetles with my tweezers the Heliamphora accept them gratefully ;D.
A couple of dinners are shown before preparation.
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Nice Photos Fred. ;)
Eric
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They are in N Ireland also but as far as I know in County Down only.
What is the life cycle and what do they do during the winter?
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They are in N Ireland also but as far as I know in County Down only.
What is the life cycle and what do they do during the winter?
See this article, mentioned by Giles, from the North American Lily Society:
http://www.lilies.org/index.html ...... from their sample articles....
http://www.lilies.org/lilybeetle.pdf by Crystal Ernst, B.Sc., M.Sc.
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After reading about the lily beetle a late winter/early spring drench of Dursban, if you can find it, should sort out hibernating adults. This chemical will also kill Narcissus fly grubs. The active ingredient is chlorpyrifos which is also available as itself. A litre costs under £20 from agriultural suppliers http://home.howstuffworks.com/question440.htm (http://home.howstuffworks.com/question440.htm)
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They are in N Ireland also but as far as I know in County Down only.
What is the life cycle and what do they do during the winter?
In early spring I sometimes find them in the debris where Lilies grew in the previous summer. Like so many other insects they seem to hibernate in the topsoil.
Göte
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After reading about the lily beetle a late winter/early spring drench of Dursban, if you can find it, should sort out hibernating adults. This chemical will also kill Narcissus fly grubs. The active ingredient is chlorpyrifos which is also available as itself. A litre costs under £20 from agriultural suppliers http://home.howstuffworks.com/question440.htm (http://home.howstuffworks.com/question440.htm)
Dursban according to the EPA is linked to a number of serious health problems as given in the link. http://www.pan-uk.org/pestnews/Issue/pn67/pn67p18a.htm If you need to deal with Lily Beetle I find Provado Ultimate kills lily beetle easily enough.
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I have just seen the first lily beetle. It wasn't going to be a good year for this individual, I hope his friends are warned.
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I have just seen the first lily beetle. It wasn't going to be a good year for this individual, I hope his friends are warned.
Ha! Now we know what the wooden shoes are used for, Rob! ;D
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I think we have destroyed about 40 so far of the little blighters,up considerably from last year
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I spray with Provado and on the ones that get away we sometimes play a game ,the children get 10p for everyone they squash .The beetles are culled and the children are happy
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...... on the ones that get away we sometimes play a game ,the children get 10p for everyone they squash .The beetles are culled and the children are happy
Aha! A work/productivity incentive scheme for children in the garden.... I like it! ;D
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Have'nt seen any so far over here... :D have to remain vigilant though... ::)
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Killed three yesterday. Not on lilies. they are hardly up. I found them in the debris on the ground near lilies.
Göte
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Hayley 10p what an incentive,when the sons were younger,a while ago now, I used to pay 1p for every Dandelion flower they collected, :o ah well thats inflation for you
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Have'nt seen any so far over here... :D have to remain vigilant though... ::)
Spoke to bluntly... :-[ :-[ - killed 4 this morning ! ;)
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I spray with Provado and on the ones that get away we sometimes play a game ,the children get 10p for everyone they squash .The beetles are culled and the children are happy
Sounds like a sensible idea Hayley but it backfired on me some years ago when I first moved to Dunedin and into a house whose small garden had a couple of snails nestling on the roughcast wall. I offered the neighbour's children 10 cents for each they could put in a bucket. Over a couple of weeks they found enough to fill two buckets. Cost me a fortune. After that I started throwing the snails out onto the road where cars ran over them. In a few days the whole area smelled of rotting meat. :o If I hadn't gone through these two grizzly exercises I doubt if gardening would have been possible.
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The bonus of them only being 6 and 7 they dont always realise they get 2 at once ;D
Its horrid realy but they realy enjoy hunting for them and its well worth a few pound for them to add to their money box , i win in the end as it get the job done and they can spend their own money when we eventually get a holiday
The things they do at times ::),the other day they put a snail on the shed door knob while i was potting up and they were seeing who could make it dizzy ,spinning the handle from the other side seeing who could do it the quickest .I did have to stop them when i found them poking its eyes every time i dared show its head from the shell .I do like them destroyed but i dont realy go for the long torture process
I dare not tell them what we used to do as children to dandy long legs !!!!!!