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You can find the current article at its original source at https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2017/jun/15/lily-beetle-wears-a-frock-of-frass-to-deter-foes
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| Lily beetle wears a frock of frass to deter foes | Lily beetle wears a frock of frass to deter foes |
| (7 months later) | |
| Crook, Country Durham Tiny larvae hatched then covered their bloated bodies in their own sticky excrement so they resembled bird droppings | |
| Phil Gates | |
| Thu 15 Jun 2017 05.30 BST | |
| Last modified on Mon 27 Nov 2017 22.39 GMT | |
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| At first I thought the flash of red under the leaf was a ladybird. Then I realised that this was a scarlet lily beetle, which has the delightfully alliterative scientific name of Lilioceris lilii. | At first I thought the flash of red under the leaf was a ladybird. Then I realised that this was a scarlet lily beetle, which has the delightfully alliterative scientific name of Lilioceris lilii. |
| These gaudy insects have a formidable appetite for lily foliage and have spread from their native Eurasia throughout most of the temperate northern hemisphere. They first appeared in a Surrey garden in 1939 and reached the US in 1943. They turned up in my garden in May. | These gaudy insects have a formidable appetite for lily foliage and have spread from their native Eurasia throughout most of the temperate northern hemisphere. They first appeared in a Surrey garden in 1939 and reached the US in 1943. They turned up in my garden in May. |
| Capturing the beetle was easy; just a gentle shake of the plant and it fell into the palm of my hand and pretended to be dead. Next day I found another. | Capturing the beetle was easy; just a gentle shake of the plant and it fell into the palm of my hand and pretended to be dead. Next day I found another. |
| Motivated by a naturalist’s life-long passion for breeding interesting insects in captivity and as a gardener mindful of Sun Tzu’s stricture in The Art of War that one should “know your enemies”, I kept them in a jam jar. | Motivated by a naturalist’s life-long passion for breeding interesting insects in captivity and as a gardener mindful of Sun Tzu’s stricture in The Art of War that one should “know your enemies”, I kept them in a jam jar. |
| They were a pair, pioneers for a potential infestation, and they mated overnight. After two days, fed on lily leaves, the female began to lay cylindrical scarlet eggs stuck in a line along a leaf. | They were a pair, pioneers for a potential infestation, and they mated overnight. After two days, fed on lily leaves, the female began to lay cylindrical scarlet eggs stuck in a line along a leaf. |
| As the adults munched through the leaves they left piles of droppings – frass in entomological parlance. When the tiny larvae hatched, five days later, they immediately covered themselves in frass. They also began to feed at a rate that made the adults seem abstemious, all the while covering their bloated bodies in their own sticky excrement, so they resembled bird droppings. | As the adults munched through the leaves they left piles of droppings – frass in entomological parlance. When the tiny larvae hatched, five days later, they immediately covered themselves in frass. They also began to feed at a rate that made the adults seem abstemious, all the while covering their bloated bodies in their own sticky excrement, so they resembled bird droppings. |
| Never was there a beautiful insect with more nauseating habits. This is evidently defensive behaviour that hides grubs from predators and, perhaps, makes it difficult for parasitic wasps to lay eggs in these shuffling mounds of ordure. | Never was there a beautiful insect with more nauseating habits. This is evidently defensive behaviour that hides grubs from predators and, perhaps, makes it difficult for parasitic wasps to lay eggs in these shuffling mounds of ordure. |
| Some gardeners destroy these beetles by squashing them between finger and thumb, not an attractive prospect for the squeamish, and anyway they can be confused with the similarly coloured native cardinal beetle, Pyrochroa coccinea, which is distinguished by its comb-like antennae and which does no damage in gardens. | Some gardeners destroy these beetles by squashing them between finger and thumb, not an attractive prospect for the squeamish, and anyway they can be confused with the similarly coloured native cardinal beetle, Pyrochroa coccinea, which is distinguished by its comb-like antennae and which does no damage in gardens. |
| These colourful beetles have extended their range rapidly over the past decade. Gardeners can contribute to research into their spread by recording sightings on the Royal Horticultural Society’s lily beetle survey website. | These colourful beetles have extended their range rapidly over the past decade. Gardeners can contribute to research into their spread by recording sightings on the Royal Horticultural Society’s lily beetle survey website. |
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