Already!?! Wow.

Horrible dictu.

Stopped using lily Family members in perennial gardening a number of years ago.

It was the frequent need to catch them as they fell that really got me. More recently read that another part of their defence mechanism is landing on the soil, black underside up; one reason why there were multiple escapees. Of course, there were too many to catch anyway.

Yes, you have to cup one hand below the perisher before squashing it with the other. If it sees you coming it will drop upside down.

Sorry to hear that, at least there is one less.

I used to check the under side of the foliage for eggs regularly at a couple of stages of growth. Then we had a very dry year and the chipmunks decimated the flower buds and then the bulbs. Once I had fewer Lilies the beetles moved on for the most part. They never bother the few Fritillaria I have left (again thanks to the chipmunks)

So floral are you seeing no beneficial effects from the parasitoids that are native to the UK?

NA had no natural enemies to predate upon the beetles until they released Tetrastichus setifer in New England in 1999 and near me in Ottawa in 2010.

For anyone who is interested here is a link Lily Beetle Evaluation of Parasitoids

That was interesting peren.all. I love lilies but I've pretty much given up on them due to those cursed beetles! Have you noticed any improvements that you would attribute to the release of the parasitoid? If so, send some down my way!!

As said, for me the main loss was the loss of the toadlilies, for their fall bloom time.

Have more different attractive summer perennial players that fall ones.

Thanks for the warning: will have to speak to the chipmunks. Just one in the front garden and one in the back. Hoping that territoriality gets in the way of any potential boy meets girl.

Fortunately the beetles have not been a problem in my gardens but I had to smile at marquest's comment about being deer fodder. I have taken to fencing in my lilies until the blooms open then the deer leave them alone as must not like the fragrance, unlike daylilies which they eat even in full bloom.

Love that pot and display, marquest.

marquest, love your lily arrangement and that pot is fantastic! Love the whimsey.

So floral are you seeing no beneficial effects from the parasitoids that are native to the UK?

Although there are parasitoids in mainland Europe there are none here afaik because it is non-native in the British Isles. It was first seen here in 1939 and has become more widespread in the last 30 years. March of the Lily Beetle

The voles wiped out every lily I had some years back. Now I garden without them.

Marquest, That pot is perfection. It looks like the pot has a leafy headdress and hair. I love it.

As for my lilies, I have never had a problem with these so-called lily beetles. The slugs, on the other hand, like to crawl down the stem when it shrivels in the fall. They crawl right into the bulb. When the stem shrivels it apparently leaves a hole in the dirt and a pathway into the bulb. If I leave them be, the slugs commence eating the bulb and making babies. I actually have to dig mine up, spray out the slugs with the hose, divide, and replant. But once the soil is firmed down again and the slugs no longer have a pathway, my lilies reliably return in the spring.

Edit: This is mostly a problem for the orientals. Many of the asiatics are impervious.

"so-called lily beetles." Not 'so called' where I am. They're horribly real.

Yes floral as is usual there is conflicting and confusing scientific info. The link I provided said Tetrastichus setifer was native to the UK but this link Parasitoids (pages 14-17) says while probably not native they are present along with Lemophagus errabundus and others. The bottom line for the RHS Lily Group is that the Lily Beetle is still winning. Obviously you still have the problem in your garden.

woody while it appears that the parasitoids are expanding their range very well in NA I won't be rushing to expand my Lily or Fritillaria collection. Time will tell if there is any impact on the beetle. I was delighted that my Lilium philadelphicum was completely unscathed as well as L. 'Corina' (that I thought had been utterly wiped out by the chipmunks)

sunnyborders I would miss the Toadlilies too. Mine were never affected knock on wood. Good luck with your chipmunks, that had better be a very stern talking to. They are beyond amusing but I was really ticked at them when they ate the Lilies. Of course they started with the best and left me with L. tigrinum and 'Connecticut King'.

Years of manic vigilance has removed lily beetles from my garden...and as the only garden in the neighbourhood with either lilies or frits (I have both), I have managed to be relatively successful...so much so that I had a lily spree last year, adding a dozen oriental/trumpet hybrids and a slew of species...not to mention numerous seedlings at various stages of development. Hoping this hubris will not be my undoing ...as I am still locked in battle with the hateful vine-weevils.

peren.all - you are way beyond my understanding of this pest. I was not aware of any natural parasites of Lily Beetle being as how it is not a native species. Certainly, even if there are some they are having little impact according to the RHS survey information. One factor might be that there are far more lilies being grown these days.

Combined parasitoids of the lily beetle have been found to parasitise 25% to 94%
of L. lilii larvae in mainland Europe (Haye & Kenis 2000; 2004; Ra¨mert et al., 2009).
With 21% of larvae producing parasitoids in this investigation and 27% reported in
Salisbury (2003) it appears that parasitism rates are currently towards the lower end
of the European range in the UK. This may be due to the UK currently having fewer
species of parasitoid than mainland Europe. The dominant parasitoid in most of
Northern and Western Europe is Lemophagus errabundus (Haye & Kenis 2000, 2004,
Ra¨mert et al., 2009). From the results presented here it is apparent that this species is
also the dominant parasitoid of L. lilii in at least part of the UK. Tetrastichus setifer
is dominant in Germany and Diaparsis jucunda (Holmgren) (Hymenoptera:
Ichneumonidae) (a species not yet found in the UK), is dominant in Southern
Europe (Haye & Kenis, 2000; 2004). From source.

Very disheartening to hear this. I pulled up all my lilies years ago because of these beetles and was just about ready to give them another go. I'll wait now - I found trying to deal with these RLB much too much.

I am afraid to type this and jinx myself but I haven't noticed any lily beetles in my garden. I'm not sure how prevalent they are in Illinois, but it could also be that I only have one oriental lily. My condolences to those gardeners dealing with this! I have had to remove/pass up many plants that I love due to extensive Japanese Beetle feeding here.