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debegray

Citrus trees being attacked by something

debegray
11 years ago

My stepmom and I are having the same problem with our citrus trees. She has a meyer lemon tree and I have a dwarf citrus. We're both seeing white cotton candy like stuff on the leaves. Also, both of us have fruit that's been burrowed into, and my fruit is turning yellow while it's still tiny and falling off.

I've attached a photo of the bug we found inside. Yech.

What is this thing and what do we do? My tree has sentimental value. My father died of ALS, and he had my stepmom buy me the tree right before he died. I can't stand it if something happens to is. Last year something was gnawing on the trunk and laying eggs, but we seem to have successfully gotten rid of that.

TIA

Comments (14)

  • johnmerr
    11 years ago

    It is a pupa of some probable hemiptera (butterfly/moth?)

    If he does not answer soon, send an email to rhizo (you can find him on this site); he know more about these things than most of us ordinary folks.

    In any case, smash it, burn it, etc.

  • jean001a
    11 years ago

    Umm, rhizo is a she!

    Beyond that, the thing in your picture was a caterpillar and is now in a pupal case while it transforms into an adult moth.

    That said, that doesn't explain the white cottony stuff.

    Further, it's normal for about 40 or more 5 of small fruits to drop. If in a container, that percentage is likely to be even higher.

  • johnmerr
    11 years ago

    Rhizo is a "she"? That explains a LOT of our "conflicts".

    I am, irrespective of gender, a huge admirer.

    John

  • rhizo_1 (North AL) zone 7
    11 years ago

    So sorry about your father. Was he a fan of citrus or of plants, in general?

    debegray, please explain further about what you've pictured.

    As has been said, the brown thing is a Lepidoptera pupa, the 'cocoon' of a moth. You found it inside the tiny fruit that has fallen? That doesn't sound right.

    What about that other stuff in the image?

    Can you post a picture of the white cotton candy stuff on the leaves?

    Are these trees planted in the ground?

  • debegray
    Original Author
    11 years ago

    Hi rhizo,

    He and my stepmom both liked gardening, but I think he had her get it because I had mentioned I wanted one.

    Sorry I wasn't clear - this thing was inside the white cottony stuff that was on a leaf. Both my stepmom and I are seeing these things and the white stuff and we have both had fruit that has something tunneling in it while it's still fairly small.

    The other brown stuff has been seen attached to these pupae each time by my stepmom. I've been too grossed out to look closely.

    My tree is in a container. My stepmom lives on a houseboat, so I'm pretty sure hers is too.

    I washed everything off the leaves yesterday, so I don't have a picture of the cottony stuff.

    I also had a lot of ants that seemed to be making a home in the roots until I spread some ant killer last week.

  • johnmerr
    11 years ago

    The problem with ants is on two fronts; ants allow air into the root zone and inhibit growth; second is if you have ants, you WILL have aphids. Aphids are the cows of ants, they farm them and move them from one location to another, eating the sweet exudate of the aphids. Eliminate the ants, you will eliminate the aphids.
    The "white cottony stuff" was likely the cocoon of the pupa; but, again, I ain't no expert on insects.

  • rhizo_1 (North AL) zone 7
    11 years ago

    Though ants often take advantage of aphids and very much vice versa, ants can exist without the presence of a single aphid. Ants and aphids sometimes develop a symbiotic relationship...but not always. These two insects certainly exist without the other.

    Thank you for clarifying the situation a bit more. I'm guessing that your pupae is that of one of the leaf rollers and that the 'white cotton candy like material' is the webbing it uses to tie the leaf into a roll. I'm guessing, also, that the brown stuff is cast off exoskeletons from the caterpillar before it began to develop into the pupae...next stage is the moth.

  • debegray
    Original Author
    11 years ago

    Well, it does look like one. Do you think that it tunneled into the fruit while it was a caterpillar? The size is about right. This pupae is about half the size of my pinky fingernail.

  • rhizo_1 (North AL) zone 7
    11 years ago

    Very possibly.

  • debegray
    Original Author
    11 years ago

    Thank you for the help - I appreciate it.

  • debegray
    Original Author
    11 years ago

    I got a picture of it. It's a gray worm right in the middle there. My stepmom and I both have been finding these clumps of brown dried stuff. I think they're petals and some dead fruit.

  • debegray
    Original Author
    11 years ago

    Here's another picture I just took. I found this on the underside of the leaves. The stillborn fruit have some webby stuff holding them onto the underside of the leaf and there's some spotty green stuff all over them.

  • eahamel
    11 years ago

    I suggest you e-mail these pics to your county extension agents. They can tell you what kind of pests are causing this problem on your citrus. I grow a lot of citrus, but I'm in another part of the country, and we don't have anything like that here that bothers citrus. I think maybe a lot of people who will see this have the same problem.

  • debegray
    Original Author
    11 years ago

    Great suggestion - I'll do that.

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