I have some kind of infestation on my lily stalks. The lilies are planted all over gardens and they all have them. They don't quite look like aphids to me. I was wondering if any of you have had this before. Right now I am cutting and burning the stalks.

Spray first BEFORE you cut and burn. Drench the entire garden with an insect killer ASAP. Worry about identifying the bug later. Right now you want to preserve as much green leaves and green stem as possible because the plant is replenishing itself for next years growth and performance. Any Ortho bug spray should work, but be thorough and early morning application is best. We can ID the bug later, but they look like dead aphids.

As late in the year as it is for you, the plant will not be harmed by being cut off now. I would put a large trash bag over the entire thing and then cut it off at the base. Next spray insecticide in the bag and close it up. Throw this away in the garbage. This way you don't have the trouble of burning. If all you do is burn, many of the bugs may get away. I would also spray the soil around the stalks to kill any on the soil and re-check every day or so for new ones.

Thanks for the input.
Lorn I would have done as you suggested with the insecticide but in my area the growth cycle is winding down so I decided to slash & burn. We live in the country and burning isn't a problem especially right now with all the rain we have had. I will have to be on the lookout for next year that is for sure. We do an ammonia drench to kill slugs / slug eggs in the areas where the hosta grow maybe I will try one in the lily beds, also??

Your plants will be ok, Holly. It's just that cutting early is something we discourage amongst lily growers. Two years ago, I ran a study on several Anaconda and Moonlight Trumpet plants: Cut early, green (early Oct.) vs. Natural, dormant, brown (mid Nov.) All plants were dug in mid Nov and replanted. There was very little difference in bulb size between the two groups at that time. During the following Spring, however, those that were cut early grew about 6 inches to 10 inches shorter and had from one to three less flowers than those left to mature naturally.

I'm very interested in seeing if somebody can identify that bug! Something I don't think I've ever seen before!

Interesting info Lorn, I never cut my Lilies back this early I quite often do clean up the stalks until spring some of the birds we feed will perch on the stalks. It will be interesting to see how then do next year.

Looks like dead aphids to me.

Next spray insecticide in the bag and close it up. Throw this away in the garbage.

As for myself, I would never go to such an extreme. Why would one need to spray a pesticide inside a sealed bag if is going to be taken away anyway? These are not chewing insects, and they are not going to escape. Yes, I would dispose of the bag, but no, I would not apply a chemical.

definitely aphids--
black ones, and it looks like you might have the purple spotted lily aphid too
http://bugguide.net/node/view/...