They came into my garden two years ago. I smushed about thirty of them this Spring and it looks like they haven't done too much damage. They really seem to like the martagons. Dispatch them before they can do the hanky panky - the larvae are so disgusting and can do so much damage.

They have been consistent here for many years. My understanding is they can smell the lilies out, in my yard they tend to start arriving around the edges of the garden first.

Thank you for your reply. But what I really want to know is how many lily beetles did you find last summer? How many have you found this year? After not seeing nary a one last summer I thought perhaps the cold winter had done them in. If that's the case then others in my geographical area should have experienced the same. If not, then I must have a guardian angel looking after my martagon lilies. If it's due to a guardian angel, then I need to put out a couple of doughnuts as payment. So you can see, it is important to know the cause of this apparent decline in my garden.

Hm I do know I had the beetles before the long cold winter of 2019, and I did definitely have beetles after, although I’m not sure if it was more or less. And they are back again this year, but I haven’t been tracking the numbers. I try to pick every single beetle and larvae in my yard, so I hope they aren’t overwintering in my soil. I think another factor is the beetles in the neighborhood, if someone has the beetles nearby and doesn’t know - I think this can easily increase a local population.

Did you find you had more beetles prior to 2019?

I read a few years ago there were some trials using parasitic wasps, I'm not sure of the outcome.

I had lots of beetles before 2019 and did not see one nor any damage last year, 2019. I mistakenly thought that the winter did them in. Not so, since I have seen three this year.

Dr. Ken Fry at Olds College is the man to contact regarding the parasitic wasp.