Important: Safety Warning
This page recommends pest-control substances such as arsenic compounds, strychnine, or cyanide — in some cases applied to food crops. These substances are lethal to humans and animals, and their use is now banned or strictly controlled.
This information has been left in for historical purposes but should not be acted upon.
Lily Beetle
(Crioceris merdigera). In this beetle, the antennae are borne on the front of the head, and the joints are short; the mandibles are short, and are provided with several teeth; the palpi are slender, and the elytra rather broad. The colour is bright scarlet during life, but fades rapidly after death. The larvae live on Lilies, devouring the leaves. They form a protective coat by pushing their excrement upon their backs there to dry into a crust; they can free themselves at pleasure from this coat. They descend into the earth when the time arrives for them to become pupae. Lily Beetles are very rare; but, when troublesome, the best plan to effect a clearance is to pick them off by hand and to throw them into hot water. White Hellebore has been found a quick and good method of getting rid of these insects. It should be applied as recommended for the Gooseberry and Currant Sawfly (which see).