Identification, Images, & Information
For Insects, Spiders & Their Kin
For the United States & Canada

Species Lilioceris lilii - Lily Leaf Beetle

Lily Leaf Beetle2 - Lilioceris lilii - male - female Red Beetle? - Lilioceris lilii Red Bug - Lilioceris lilii filth covered orange insect - Lilioceris lilii Leaf Beetle - Lilioceris lilii Lilioceris lilii - Lily Leaf Beetle - Lilioceris lilii - male - female Lily Leaf Beetle Larva - Lilioceris lilii Lily Leaf Beetle - 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.