So a few days ago, I noticed some funny-looking slug-like bugs on one of my lily plants. I made a mental note to look them up later and find out what they were.
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3543/...57f11ff8_b.jpg
(Note: We moved into this house last summer and inherited all the flower gardens. I don't know what half the stuff growing here is. I wasn't even sure these plants were lilies until they bloomed last year. They were gorgeous!)
Today, I noticed that the plant that had the bugs on it a few days ago, was now completely and utterly dead. In this pic, you can see a healthy plant on the left, and this plant on the right:
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2573/...1becfd15_b.jpg
I also saw that these ugly slugs were on many more plants now. And whereas previously they had seemed relatively harmless, their damage was now readily apparent:
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2534/...8676e4f78c.jpg
Then I saw this guy, and thought he'd be the key to identifying what these were, so that's when I started taking pictures.
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2526/...94bb7141f0.jpg
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3650/...3b227d231e.jpg
So I was going to post on this very forum, in fact, in hopes someone would recognize him. I decided to do some googling on my own first, though. I didn't have much luck, at first. It turns out pictures of the nice, orange larva are quite rare. But pics of the brown gooey ones are more common, and that's where I hit paydirt.
Asian lily beetles. A relatively recent pest in the region, they'll decimate your lilies faster than you can say "hey, what are these bugs?" and then they might even go after your tomatoes and potatoes if they're still hungry. ARGHHHHH....
There were definitely none of these guys last year. And so far, there are none on my veggies... But it looks like I'm in for a few weeks of hand-picking larvae that are COVERED IN THEIR OWN POO... And researching whether I can get Neem here and if it's a good idea to do so (it's frequently reported to be effective against these guys).
So I was all ready to start this post but I had to go out for some errands. On the way to the car, I quickly stopped to look at a stand of lilies on the side of the house -- far, far away from the affected stand in the back. They were clean. Thank goodness. Healthy, tall, no bugs, and... what's this?
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2642/...5bdb6f6854.jpg
Well, that confirmed the diagnosis at least. I hadn't yet seen adults or eggs. Now I had. And they're spreading.
Anyone got any success stories to share? "I had asian lily beetles and I (and my lilies) survived to tell the tale"? Or even failure stories, "I had asian lily beetles, lost the battles, pulled all my lilies." -- it would still be informative for me. I guess I'm just looking for sympathy and commiseration!!!
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3543/...57f11ff8_b.jpg
(Note: We moved into this house last summer and inherited all the flower gardens. I don't know what half the stuff growing here is. I wasn't even sure these plants were lilies until they bloomed last year. They were gorgeous!)
Today, I noticed that the plant that had the bugs on it a few days ago, was now completely and utterly dead. In this pic, you can see a healthy plant on the left, and this plant on the right:
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2573/...1becfd15_b.jpg
I also saw that these ugly slugs were on many more plants now. And whereas previously they had seemed relatively harmless, their damage was now readily apparent:
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2534/...8676e4f78c.jpg
Then I saw this guy, and thought he'd be the key to identifying what these were, so that's when I started taking pictures.
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2526/...94bb7141f0.jpg
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3650/...3b227d231e.jpg
So I was going to post on this very forum, in fact, in hopes someone would recognize him. I decided to do some googling on my own first, though. I didn't have much luck, at first. It turns out pictures of the nice, orange larva are quite rare. But pics of the brown gooey ones are more common, and that's where I hit paydirt.
Asian lily beetles. A relatively recent pest in the region, they'll decimate your lilies faster than you can say "hey, what are these bugs?" and then they might even go after your tomatoes and potatoes if they're still hungry. ARGHHHHH....
There were definitely none of these guys last year. And so far, there are none on my veggies... But it looks like I'm in for a few weeks of hand-picking larvae that are COVERED IN THEIR OWN POO... And researching whether I can get Neem here and if it's a good idea to do so (it's frequently reported to be effective against these guys).
So I was all ready to start this post but I had to go out for some errands. On the way to the car, I quickly stopped to look at a stand of lilies on the side of the house -- far, far away from the affected stand in the back. They were clean. Thank goodness. Healthy, tall, no bugs, and... what's this?
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2642/...5bdb6f6854.jpg
Well, that confirmed the diagnosis at least. I hadn't yet seen adults or eggs. Now I had. And they're spreading.
Anyone got any success stories to share? "I had asian lily beetles and I (and my lilies) survived to tell the tale"? Or even failure stories, "I had asian lily beetles, lost the battles, pulled all my lilies." -- it would still be informative for me. I guess I'm just looking for sympathy and commiseration!!!
