Photo by C. Boucher

Following a noticeable uptick in lily beetle populations, the provincial government is striking back with a winged weapon of their own.

Dr. James Tansey is the Provincial Insect, Invertebrate, and Pest Management Specialist. He says lily beetles are causing more destruction to their namesake flower these days, primarily in Saskatoon and Regina.

In partnership with the University of Saskatchewan, Agriculture and Agrifood Canada, the City of Saskatoon, and the CABI bioscience centre in Switzerland, the team was able to procure the beetle’s natural predator: a small, parasitoid wasp that lays eggs inside the larva of the beetle.

“They’re very, very small. We’re talking less than two millimetres,” he explains.

Small releases were conducted in both Saskatoon and Regina with hopes of eradicating the destructive pest, especially given that the provincial flower is the Western Red Lily. Tansey says the outlook is promising.

“There were releases done in Calgary, Airdrie, and Olds, Alberta. Where they established in those three towns, they’ve completely eradicated the lily leaf beetle.”

Tansey says the wasps are very host specific, so there is no need to worry about them attacking native species.

“If an organism for release for biological control of other insects or weeds, I think people can rest assured that the work has been done to ensure that these are not going to become a problem.”

Tansey says if the wasps don’t establish themselves in Saskatoon and Regina, rereleases will be conducted.