Something small and bright yellow caught my eye as I was walking past my Lisbon lemon tree yesterday. At first I thought a flower from another plant had lodged itself in the branches of the lemon tree. Upon closer inspection I observed this mutated (?) blossom.









Kent

I suspect that this is not really a mutation, but damage due to the Citrus Bud Mite. It usually infects lemons and is prevalent in your area.
For further information see
http://www.ipm.ucdavis.edu/PMG/r107400411.html

I've been wondering what's wrong with some of my Lisbon Lemon blossoms. They look exactly like the posted pictures.

Upon close inspection, I can see the deformed baby fruit developing. Some look like co-joining twins and some look like baby Buddha's Hand fruits.

I thought it would be cool to let some of them develop, but if it's citrus bud mite, I'll just cut those off and throw away.

I'll see if I can take some pictures of my deformed Lisbon Lemons blossoms.

On a side note, does citrus bud mite cause leaves drop???

I've noticed that my Lisbon Lemon tree have been dropping a lot of leaves this year. The dropped leaves look very healthy, green, and unblemished. My tree looks pretty clean and there is no bug infestation I can see on the branches or leaves.

Citrange,

Thanks for the link! That will be a handy resource for my location. I am surprised I hadn't found that particular site already, given a few recent searches for info on other insects.

I think I'll remove the blossom, dissect it, and see if I find any mites. I'll also keep an eye out for signs of additional leaf or bloom deformities. Haven't noticed such, but wouldn't hurt to look closer. If it becomes a problem, I guess I'll have to look for a source of abamectin, as it sounds like that might be available for home use. Baring that, maybe an early morning (before bee activity) application of pyrethrum, which I already have.

Kent