Thanks for the info John,

Actually, to my horror, I think I found some aphids this morning on the tips
of the lemon tree. There was such a quantity of them (little black things
that kinda looked like small ticks?!), that I decided it would be best to
pull the whole tip off (bugs and all) and I then crushed the bugs and placed
the tip and crushed bugs into the wheelie bin!

Was this the right course of action? I hope so!

Despite this find, I'm not convinced this is what has been taking ALL the
tips, as I haven't seen the aphids on my trees AT ALL in the past! (And the
trees are only small and I check them almost daily!)

Oh well, any futher ideas?

Cheers,
Mick







"John Savage" wrote in message
om...
"jim" writes:
Harlequin bugs are notorious for attacking citrus, they suck the sap out
of
new growth and it withers. Hard buggers to get rid of, you can either
spray
but need to thoroughly to get them as they hide under the leaves. I do it
the tried and true way. Firstly you need goggles and rubber gloves and old
clothes or overalls and a pair of tongs, (these bugs when you threaten
them
they squirt and acidic and very smelly liquid at you) have a bucket of
water
handy and when you catch them drop them in it and drown them, eventually
you
will get them all, do a little bit each day.

This is exactly how I'd describe the bronze citrus bug. Are you sure
that Harlequin bug is the correct name for the pest you are describing?
Bronze citrus bugs/beetles start off as tiny and green, as they grow they
turn orange, and in their mature winged state they are flat and about the
size of a Christmas beetle, but matt black and quite menacing-looking.
These can squirt acid when grabbed.

A grub that likes citrus tips is a black and white one which looks like a
bird turd on the leaf. I don't know what sort of butterfly it develops
into, but in the grub stage it can devour a lot of leaf in one night. You
will often find them under a leaf during the day, near a site of leaf
damage. Pick off and squash.

Aphids like the red/green tips of citrus, and can congregate there in such
numbers as to totally cover the new foliage. The OP should look closely
to see that these are not the source of the tip problem.
--
John Savage (my news address is not valid for email)