Come out, you little minx!

Often when I'm taking photos of living creatures, captions will pop into my head as I'm snapping away.  Which is the only credible explanation for my silly title of today's blip!  

The featured creature today is a Scarlett Lily Beetle ( Lilioceris lilii) or a Red Lily Beetle.  In past years, I've always seen one or two on my lilies but never worried about them.  Today, however, I found MANY of them on the lily foliage - and the lilies were chewed full of holes.  To compound the problem, the little blighters were mating right and left (yea, I know, I should have gotten pictures of that).  When I started inspecting the leaves, I found loads of larva and eggs.  A quick trip to Google and I realized that I probably needed to do something.  Problem is, I really don't like to use insecticides ... so, I resorted to flicking as many of them as possible off into a little cup of soapy water.  I know it sounds awful, but believe me, I barely put a dent in them.

This is yet another reason whey it makes more sense to just plant native species - the lilies are a hybrid, very hardy but really pretty worthless as a nectar source.  As for the Scarlett Lily Beetles ... they are non-native beetles with no known predators on this continent.  Anyway, the little red beetles make for a great blip.  Also a good entry for MayMacroMayhem - do be sure to check out the many great macro shots there!  Two more beetles in Extras and four other macro shots on Flickr, starting HERE

In other news...

Great talk with my parents this morning.  Planning a trip out to see them in Mid-June.  A short trip, unfortunately, so no time to see my blip-friends in the Portland area.

Big tent sale at Home Depot, so we finally bought a big rug for the living room.  Looks very nice - the cats are reserving judgement.

Hubs had a bike ride AND a motorcycle ride - he's a happy camper.  

I pottered around the garden ... macro lens at my side.  A pretty perfect day.  

Cats have been quiet after a big brouhaha this morning.  I'm sure they are resting up for later...

Dinner tonight is fresh tomatoes, basil and truffle goat cheese over pasta.  Simple and very tasty - a summer favorite.  

Cheers, people.