Plants affected

• They're highly destructive to lilies (Lilium), and fritillaries (Fritillaria).
• Red lily beetle adults feed on leaves, flowers and stems.
• Infestations can prevent flowering, destroy bulbs or kill plants depending on the level of infestation.

About scarlet lily beetle

• These bright red beetles, with distinctive black legs and antennae, are an invasive species which was first recorded in the UK during the 1940s.
• They're also known as red lily beetles and are now commonly found across the south-east of England, and have recently been reported in parts of Scotland, Wales and Ireland.
• When disturbed, adults emit a high pitch squeak, perhaps as a warning to other beetles.
• Adults overwinter in the soil and emerge in late-March to early April.
• Adults will continue to mate and feed from spring until autumn.
• After mating, females will lay small groups of bright orange eggs on the underside of leaves.
• Larvae hatch a few days later as red or orange-coloured grubs with black heads and three pairs of legs on their upper body.
• As they feed, the larvae cover themselves in their own sticky black excrement.
• Red lily beetle larvae are usually found on the underside of leaves where they feed from the tip and work back to the stem.
• Any larvae which survive to become adults will drop to the soil in late autumn to overwinter, and emerge again the next spring.

• Inspect plants carefully in early spring and remove any adults and larvae by hand to prevent infestations becoming established.
• Use netting and fleece to contain the pests and stop adults moving between plants.
• Replant pot-grown lilies and fritillarias using fresh compost in early spring before the overwintering adult beetles emerge from the soil.
• There are no natural enemies commercially available, although a range of native parasites and predators will feed on both adult and larval stages. So encourage these by establishing a natural balance of wildlife in your garden and avoid using chemicals.