Northeast Gardening: Summer Blooms 2014, 1 by gardenmart

gardenmart wrote:
I believe my neighborhood to have benefited from the release of Lily Leaf Beetle parasites in Wellesley. I am down to about four or five lilies of various types due to this scourge. I can keep a close watch on these few plants. In the last 4 years, there has been a huge decrease in the number of beetles, larvae etc I found on these plants. The picture shows an asiatic double lily growing in a pot with a dwarf Alberta spruce. This plant was plagued with beetles for years. I religiously hand picked them from this plant and the ones planted in my garden beds. In the past four years, however, the population has decreased to almost none. This plant had no beetles this year.
I attribute it to the parasitic wasps having found them after being blown in here from Wellesley.
Martha