Content
Red beetles on lilies are no longer uncommon. Popularly they are called firemen, and scientifically they are called rattle beetles. They also feed on other plants in the garden, but they breed exclusively on lilies and hazel grouse. The history of the transformation of these insects into pests follows the path of their closest relative, the Colorado potato beetle. That is, until lilies were cultivated and became widespread, few people knew about the existence of rattles. But now this beetle has become a serious problem for gardeners.
Red beetles are active in the morning and evening hours
Description of the pest
The lily rattle beetle is a large insect. The length of its oblong body varies between 6-9 mm. Its main color is bright red, but its head, antennae, abdomen and limbs are black. Rattlers have the ability to fly well, so their distribution area is constantly expanding.
Pests on red lilies have a well-developed instinct of self-preservation. Sensing danger, they fall to the ground and turn over with their belly up, thus camouflaging themselves. Red beetles can lie in this position for a long time.
Female pests are characterized by increased fertility. During the season they lay up to 400 eggs on lilies and hazel grouse. Rattlers hide future offspring on the back of the leaves. The eggs of lily beetles are oblong, up to 2 mm long, red or orange in color, located in small groups of up to ten pieces in uneven rows.
Seven days after laying, light yellow larvae emerge from them. They have an unpleasant appearance because they surround themselves with grey-brown excrement, which is thickly covered with mucus. This protective shell helps them survive at this stage.
After 15-25 days, the larvae significantly increase in size and descend from the plant, burrowing into the top layer of soil to pupate. After two weeks, they develop into adults capable of independently reproducing offspring, and the life cycle resumes.
Harm from red beetles
This pest causes serious damage to garden lilies, which makes their full development and flowering impossible. And in some cases, weakened plants end up dying without the vitality to recover.
Adult red beetles feed on leaves, buds and stem bulbs. They eat them partially or completely. This leads to disruption of metabolic processes in plant tissues.
The affected buds, if they bloom, are deformed and look dejected
Beetle larvae are also characterized by increased gluttony. They quickly eat the leaves of the plant on which they appeared.This leads to the fact that the above-ground part is not able to provide adequate nutrition to the bulb, so it does not accumulate substances that allowed it to survive the winter without problems.
Sensing danger, the pest makes a cracking sound that comes from the abdominal cavity
What to do if red bugs appear on lilies
You need to constantly fight red beetles on lilies using complex methods. This will control the number of pests and prevent their massive spread on the site.
Chemicals
When choosing products against red beetles on lilies, it is necessary to give preference to drugs that destroy leaf-eating insects. The agents used against the Colorado potato beetle are considered especially effective.
To combat rattlers, you can use drugs such as Inta-Vir, Decis, Ampligo, Fufanon, Kinmiks. It is necessary to prepare a working solution based on them immediately before use so that it does not lose its effectiveness. All vegetative parts of the lily need to be sprayed with the working fluid against red beetles.
It is recommended to repeat the treatment every week until the signs of the pest disappear. This is due to the fact that toxic substances are destroyed only by adults and larvae, but they are not able to penetrate the protective shell of the eggs.
Biological methods
You can also save lilies from red beetles using special biocontrol that does not harm the environment.At the beginning of the 21st century, an experiment was carried out in the United States to introduce larvae of European wasps, which are representatives of the family of ichneumonid wasps and natural enemies of red beetles, into a specially designated area. As a result, the pest population has been reduced to a minimum over several years.
Therefore, to protect lilies from red beetles, you can purchase the biological product Spinosad with a similar effect. It helps fight many pests in the garden. It is based on bacteria.
It is recommended to use the product in the evening to avoid harm to the bees.
Physical methods
At the first signs of the appearance of rattles on lily plantings, it is necessary to manually collect insects, as well as destroy their egg clutches. In case of mass spread, it is necessary to resort to drastic methods of control.
It is also recommended to spread a film at the base of the lilies, which will not allow the larvae of red beetles to go deeper into the soil and pupate.
Physical control methods can only help with a small number of pests
Folk remedies
You can also fight this malicious pest using folk remedies. However, it is worth considering that they have a gentle effect and may be ineffective during mass reproduction.
Effective folk remedies against beetles on lilies:
- Mix equal amounts of red and black pepper, add mustard powder, cumin, and cinnamon. Fill them with warm water so that its volume is 20 times larger than the spices and rub 50 g of laundry soap into the solution. Mix everything thoroughly until smooth, treat the leaves and shoots of lilies with the resulting product. Repeat the procedure every three days.
- Pour 500 g of wood ash into 2 liters of warm water and add 30 ml of dishwashing detergent and mix. Spray lilies with this product regularly until the signs of the pest disappear.
- Prepare 1 kg of wormwood stems and leaves. Grind the plant material and pour 5 liters of hot water over it and leave for 24 hours. After the waiting period has expired, strain and add 50 ml of liquid soap. Use the resulting solution to spray lilies every three days.
It is not recommended to spray healthy lily flowers, as they quickly fade after this.
Preventing beetles
In order to subsequently avoid the mass spread of beetles in perennial plantings, it is necessary to adhere to certain preventive measures. They cannot completely eliminate damage, but they reduce the likelihood of the pest appearing on lilies to a minimum.
Basic measures to prevent the appearance of red beetles:
- Plant marigolds and garlic in the rows, the smell of which repels the pest.
- Conduct timely feeding of perennials with phosphorus-potassium fertilizers, which will strengthen their immunity.
- Before planting the bulbs, treat them with Prestige disinfectant.
- You can observe crop rotation and return lilies to their original place only in the fifth year.
- Treat plants in the spring at the beginning of the growing season with insecticides, spraying the stem and leaves, as well as watering the soil at their base.
Conclusion
Red beetles appear on lilies regardless of their species and variety. However, every gardener can cope with their invasion if he acts quickly and comprehensively. The main thing is to prevent their mass settlement in lily plantings.And then the pest will have no chance.
