Large bright red beetle

[Paul mabbott]

As with a lot of the leaf beetles (Chrysomelidae) few of them will be seen far from their specific host plants. So the lily beetle will be on or near lilies, perhaps fritillaries, onions and related monocotyledons ...
A big red beetle flying around in bushes or reeds is 99% a cardinal. Just as a small red beetle eating a lily is ......

Originally Posted by Cheryl

I don't know what it is but I feel sure it's NOT a Lily Beetle

[shinna86]

i had two red beeltes on some lilies in my garde. they mated for a day and disapeared. now my lilies are being eaten. i live near birmingham.

[shinna86]

this the the beetle, well one of them.

[charlieb]

That's the Lily Beetle, Lilioceris lilii

[bugbotherer]

Here's my pic of a Cardinal beetle for you to do a comparison

[EnglishRose]

Yes - that was the one. It was a Cardinal - beautiful!

[JRsbugs]

Welcome to WAB EnglishRose, this is where it all starts wehn you see something you want to know about! I hope you continue to look for and identify these creatures, it's a lot of fun!

Welcome also to shinna. I'm afraid you will need to dispose of the red lily beetle if you are to grow lilies. I have had them now for a few years, I keep a constant watch as they tend to turn up on warm days and I usually find them in threes, a mating pair and a spare. They will lay their red eggs under the leaves, these grubs cover themselves in their own excrement as they eat the leaves. They will increase very quickly, I find they lay eggs in strips of 10, so look under the leaves then try to break or cut off the part with them on. Best way to dispose is put your foot on them, which I don't do with anything else other than the vine weevil, but these will prove to be a real nuisance with no predators.

Janet

[squishy]

The best way to tell cardinal and lily beetles apart is the antennae and the colour of the head. If the antennae are serrated, it is a cardinal beetle (Pyrochroa sp.) and if not it is most likely a lily beetle.

There are two British species of cardinal beetle, Pyrochroa serraticornis (the species bugbotherer showed us) and Pyrochroa coccinea.

The way to tell them apart is that P. coccinea has a black head and P. serraticornis has a red head.

[Berni]

Discovered red beetles devouring my lilies! I counted 18,I have to say that I don't kill anything if I can help it, sprayed them with greenfly and blackfly killer and it worked. I have had the plants for about 4 years now and never seen any red bugs untill now. I live in Bolton, Lancashire.