# Calla Lilies and Orange Beetles **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [March 11, 2017, 4:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/calla-lilies-and-orange-beetles/781937 "2017-03-11T16:09:18Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 6\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![salinqmind](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/3ec8ea/32.png) [@salinqmind](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/salinqmind)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2017, 4:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/calla-lilies-and-orange-beetles/781937/1 "2017-03-11T16:09:18Z")
Those bright orange lily beetles have decimated all my day lilies, casablancas, and stargazer lilies. I had nothing but stems left last year. If anyone knows, would it be a waste of time to plant calla lilies? Do the pests chew those up, too? I’ve asked around here, but no one seems to know , or grow calla lilies at all. ---
**Author:** ![levdrakon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/49beb7/32.png) [@levdrakon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/levdrakon)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2017, 4:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/calla-lilies-and-orange-beetles/781937/2 "2017-03-11T16:33:27Z")
According to this, [Lilium - Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lilium#Pests_and_diseases), it looks like they’re reproducing on your true lilies, which I guess would include the Stargazer, and opportunistically munching the other lilies. Maybe you could replace the plants from the Liliaceae family and see what happens? Callas aren’t related to either day lilies or true lilies, so I’d give it a try. ---
**Author:** ![salinqmind](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/3ec8ea/32.png) [@salinqmind](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/salinqmind)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2017, 5:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/calla-lilies-and-orange-beetles/781937/3 "2017-03-11T17:11:51Z")
Thanks for the information, I probably will go ahead and get some, what the heck. My husband loves calla lilies and wants to put them on the deck in containers. ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2017, 5:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/calla-lilies-and-orange-beetles/781937/4 "2017-03-11T17:34:45Z")
Not any help but I saw the title and immediately thought [of this famous scene](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WNtz0r5pmXo) from a less than famous movie. _Stage Door_. ---
**Author:** ![salinqmind](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/3ec8ea/32.png) [@salinqmind](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/salinqmind)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2017, 4:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/calla-lilies-and-orange-beetles/781937/5 "2017-03-13T04:31:16Z")
> [@What\_Exit](#): > > Not any help but I saw the title and immediately thought [of this famous scene](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WNtz0r5pmXo) from a less than famous movie. _Stage Door_. 😕 I beg to differ, ‘Stage Door’ is cult-classic with snappy dialog featuring many famous actresses early in their careers: Katharine Hepburn, Lucille Ball, Eve Arden, Ginger Rogers, living in a boarding house and aspiring to the stage. Turner Classic Movies shows it on a regular basis. ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2017, 6:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/calla-lilies-and-orange-beetles/781937/6 "2017-03-13T06:18:28Z")
> [@salinqmind](#): > > If anyone knows, would it be a waste of time to plant calla lilies? Do the pests chew those up, too? I’ve asked around here, but no one seems to know , or grow calla lilies at all. Would you plant true callas (_Calla palustris_) or arums (_Zantedeschia_ sp.)? The latter are quite hardy when it comes to bugs (although they do purposefully attract them for pollination so other plants nearby might suffer)