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The lily leaf beetle, native to Europe, was
discovered near Montreal, Canada in 1945.
Its damage was limited to the Montreal
area for decades, but was reported in Boston, MA in 1992. Recently it has spread
to the south and west, and has now been found in every New England state.
It is a serious pest of native and cultivated lilies (Liliaceae).
We surveyed for parasitoids of L. lilii in France from 1996 to 1998.
Tetrastichus setifer Thomson was the most abundant parasitoid reared from L. lilii larvae collected during this survey.
T. setifer host range tests indicated specificity to subfamily (Criocerinae).
After receiving USDA and state approval, we established two release and one control plot for T. setifer in
Massachusetts, and one release and one control plot in Rhode Island. T. setifer successfully overwintered in one
Massachusetts release site in 2002.
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