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Home » Guide » Arthropods (Arthropoda) » Hexapods (Hexapoda) » Insects (Insecta) » Beetles (Coleoptera) » Polyphaga » Series Cucujiformia » Longhorn and Leaf Beetles (Chrysomeloidea) » Leaf Beetles (Chrysomelidae) » Criocerinae » Criocerini » Lilioceris » Lily Leaf Beetle (Lilioceris lilii)

Species Lilioceris lilii - Lily Leaf Beetle

Representative Images

Lilioceris lilii Red Beetle - Lilioceris lilii Lilioceris lilii, Lily Leaf Beetle - Lilioceris lilii Scarlet Lily Beetle - Lilioceris lilii not the most common - Lilioceris lilii Lilioceris lilii Larvae - Lilioceris lilii Lilioceris lilii Larvae - Lilioceris lilii Lilioceris lilii Larvae - Lilioceris lilii

Classification

Kingdom Animalia (Animals)
Phylum Arthropoda (Arthropods)
Subphylum Hexapoda (Hexapods)
Class Insecta (Insects)
Order Coleoptera (Beetles)
Suborder Polyphaga
No Taxon (Series Cucujiformia)
Superfamily Chrysomeloidea (Longhorn and Leaf Beetles)
Family Chrysomelidae (Leaf Beetles)
Subfamily Criocerinae
Tribe Criocerini
Genus Lilioceris
Species lilii (Lily Leaf Beetle)

Explanation of Names

Lilioceris lilii (Scopoli 1763)
lilii 'of lily' (the host plant)

Range

native to the Palaearctic (common across n. Eurasia)(1), adventive in our area and spreading(2)

Food

hosts: Fritillaria, Lilium(2)
Adults will feed on Fritillaria, Polygonatum, Solanum, Smilax, Nicotiana and other plants but are not able to complete their life cycle on these hosts. They do not feed on daylilies.

Life Cycle

Eggs • Larvae • Larva with coating removed • Adults ♂♀
Larvae cover themselves with excrement, probably as a protection against predators

Remarks

earliest record in our area: QC 1943
May spread with potted lilies, bulbs or cut flowers. In areas where it is invasive, it is a serious pest of cultivated lilies and fritillaries. Without control plants are totally defoliated by larvae. In our area represents a threat to native lilies.

Works Cited

1.Borowiec L. (200_-2013) Chrysomelidae: The leaf beetles of Europe and the Mediterranean subregion (checklist and iconography)
2.American Beetles, Volume II: Polyphaga: Scarabaeoidea through Curculionoidea
Arnett, R.H., Jr., M. C. Thomas, P. E. Skelley and J. H. Frank. (eds.). 2002. CRC Press LLC, Boca Raton, FL.
Contributed by tom murray on 13 June, 2005 - 9:15pm
Additional contributions by Hannah Nendick-Mason, Beatriz Moisset, McClarinJ, Chuck Entz, Mike Quinn, v belov
Last updated 2 October, 2023 - 7:27am

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