VERY cool, I've never seen one of these in person! Those are Purple Spotted Lily aphids. How many lilies do you have?

Just one now, my dog ran through my garden box and knocked down my other 4... Should just leave them be or will they kill my lily???

i'd leave them.. just to watch them..

crikey.... this show is better than the few dollar lily ...

try to inhibit your sense to slaughter them.. and enjoy a different phase of ma nature ...

oh.. and train the dog... [you didnt kill him.. when he got the other 3.. why these buggers... literally.. lol]

ken

This post was edited by ken_adrian on Mon, Jul 15, 13 at 19:28

It's actually a seed I planted from my great grandmothers garden when I got my own place so it's pretty special to me, and yes the dog got a good spanking! ;) they don't seem to be hurting the plant so far, so if u don't think they won't ill just let them do there thing. There are probably 3000 of them on the lily all different sizes

Allie, now that I know that there's just one to deal with, I'll suggest that you take your hose out there....or a squirt bottle....and spray+squish them away. You may need to do that a few times to get them under control. Aphids multiply like crazy, but you can control them in this manner.

Your excellent image shows lots of aphids, young and old. I really am happy to have seen a picture of them, but you need to get rid of them.

Thanks to both of you for your help!!

Yea, neat. I have never seen this particular aphid, either. I have a grouping of tiger lilies as well, and they came from my MIL's garden so also have sentimental value. Here's the thing about them though. They are a pool for lily mosaic virus and if one has them should assume they are infected, as they are very resistant to it and don't succumb like most other lilies. It's a non-issue for the tiger lily, but a big issue if you grow other varieties. Aphids carry plant viruses and spread them. If you have lilies other than the tiger lily, it's more important to keep aphids on them under control so the disease is not vectored by them.

Usually, by the time an aphid colony gets out of hand, the good guys come in and clean house. Watch for ladybugs, lacewings, hoverflies and even tiny gnat sized parasitic wasps. These are all friends and will control your aphid population.

Thanks for that information, calliope....I didn't know that about the lily mosaic virus connection with tiger lilies. All the more reason for Allie to get out there and do some squishing!