It's my first summer in a new house and I've noticed red lily beetles eating some shoots (presumably lilies - they look like they are and I do have the beetles but no flowers yet so have no idea what kind). I've scooped up adults and they've met their end in a container of soapy water and sprayed the plants and surrounding soil with neem oil. But my question is: do lily beetles ever attack plants other than lilies? I'm not a huge fan of lilies (sacrilege in this forum probably 😜) so would be ok digging them out and replacing them with something else but only if that will actually solve the beetle problem. My dad thought he remembered them moving on to other plants when he dug his out, but couldn't say for sure since it was a while ago.

Thanks!

Lilioceris lilii is a leaf beetle that eats the leaves, stem, buds, and flowers, of lilies, fritillaries and other members of the family Liliaceae. They could affect some other plants (like Convallaria majalis, Polygonatum, potato, flowering tobacco, hollyhock (Alcea) and Hosta) but it's rare. Lily family is their main food source.

The Lily leaf beetle life cycle is only completed on Lilium and Fritillaria species. While the adults may chomp on a few other members of the the Lilaceae family, eggs are not laid on them (or any other species of plants). So larvae will never be problematic on them, and adults would have to come from somewhere else.

So if you get rid of your true lilies (Lilium) and Fritillaria, unless your neighbor grows them as a constant source of inoculum, you should eliminate the pest naturally.

Thanks for the replies!

If you shoot the larvae off with a strong stream of water do they find their way back onto the plant or is that an effective strategy to get rid of them? Planning o spraying with neem oil as well but it's a hot day today so I don't want to burn the leaves.

They eat from following genera: Lilium and Fritillaria