Lilioceris lilii 百合負泥蟲

Common name: Lily Beetle
Scientific name: Lilioceris lilii 百合負泥蟲
Genus: Lilioceris 長頸金花蟲屬
Family: Chrysomelidae 金花蟲科, leaf beetles
Suborder: Polyphaga 多食亞目, mainly non-water beetles, weevils 象鼻蟲
Order: Coleoptera 鞘翅目, beetles

Remarks: Red lily beetle has become the lily growers’ nemesis; the adults and larvae can devour a lily (Lilium 百合屬 and Cardiocrinum 大百合屬 spp.) or fritillary (Fritillaria 貝母屬 spp.) plant in a matter of days. During the past decade it has been consistently one of the top ten pest problems reported to the RHS Members’ Advisory Service. Results from the olfactometer experiments indicate that in the spring female beetles are able to locate lilies by odour alone, and that the beetles preferentially move towards the odour of plants already infested with other beetles.

Status: The lily beetle is not native to the UK. Originally native to parts of Asia the lily beetle has spread gradually since the nineteenth century over most of Europe, North Africa and Asia, this spread being accelerated in recent decades by the international movement of horticultural products. 

It was first noticed at the end of the 19th century, with a handful of short-lived infestations. It was not until 1939 that an established colony was discovered in Surrey. By the late 1950s the beetle had become widespread in Surrey and was also found in Berkshire. By 1990 it was found in Hampshire, Middlesex, Wiltshire, Dorset, Hertfordshire and Oxfordshire and by the end of 2005 had been found in almost every English county. In 2002 the beetle was reported from Glasgow and Belfast. Continued reports to the RHS indicate that the beetle is established and spreading in Scotland and Northern Ireland.

Date: 11th April

222_1 Head, antennae and legs black. Pronotum 前胸背板 and elytra 鞘甲 bright red.

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216_1 Mating on the leaf. Smaller male on the top and larger female at the bottom.

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