Lily Beetle on My Fritillaria
No – not a new pop star, but a bug which has decided to invade my garden – after my Fritillaria. It is a very nice looking bug, but basically eats the whole plant until there is nothing left. The RHS are conducting a survey into the spread of this creature in the UK. It seems to be found in all counties now, and is working it’s way north.
I had them once before several years ago on a lily in my front garden and found them very hard to control. So much so that the lily was destroyed, and never reappeared. I am trying picking them off by hand and keeping an eye out for the eggs and larvae – fingers crossed that I manage to stop them eating everything this time.
Little red devils.