Scarlet lily beetle
When squeezed it produces an audible squeak, and when disturbed it drops to the ground and flips onto its black underside to vanish against the soil.
| Where | Gardens with lilies and fritillaries |
|---|---|
| Size | 6 to 9 mm body length |
| When | April to August |
The scarlet lily beetle has bright scarlet, shiny elytra contrasting with an entirely black head, legs, antennae and underside, and long legs and antennae typical of the genus.
Larvae hide beneath a covering of their own excrement while stripping lily and fritillary leaves, and adults overwinter in soil or plant debris before returning to host plants in spring.
Traits
Habitat
Garden
Colour
Red, Black
Active
Day
To people
A serious garden pest of lilies, but harmless to handle; it may squeak faintly if squeezed.
Activity through the year
Often confused with
Overlapping in size at 6 to 8 mm, but with a red head and legs rather than the black head and legs of the scarlet lily beetle.
Questions
Is the Scarlet lily beetle dangerous to people?
A serious garden pest of lilies, but harmless to handle; it may squeak faintly if squeezed.
When can you see the Scarlet lily beetle?
The Scarlet lily beetle can be seen from April to August, by day.
Plate retouched from a photo by Udo Schmidt, CC BY‑SA 2.0, Wikimedia Commons Licence
The plate on this page is shared under the same licence as its source, CC BY-SA.
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Beetles›Leaf beetles›Lilioceris
Last updated 2026-09-26. Every entry is checked against published sources.