Location: Maryland zone 7. It causes the lemon tree a slow death if untreated. Damage is most likely on trees growing near unmanaged vegetation, from which grasshoppers migrate to citrus. European earwig chewing Identification tip: Earwigs chew buds, leaves, or small fruit. Join Date: May 2002. And there's nothing more disheartening than paying big bucks for a citrus tree and finding the leaves munched away in the first month. The lemon tree has been doing pretty good and has 6 fruit growing and it has had a few small blossoms come and go within a few days. Remove larvae or nymph-infested leaves from your citrus tree by hand and treat the tree with neem oil. To eradicate, simply pull the chewing insects off the leaves with your fingers or tweezers. Affected leaves will never return to normal because iron is not a mobile nutrient, meaning that it cannot be relocated within a plant. When abundant, grasshoppers can eat most all of the foliage on entire small trees. I've recently had to prune one of my lemon trees right back because of this. Alkaline city water and alkaline soils are common causes of chlorosis; iron becomes decreasingly available to trees when soil pH is above 6.0, and is mostly unavailable at pH of 7.0 and above. Member. Can you help #4 07-21-08, 04:58 PM N. Newt. 13 years ago. What's the best way of protecting the trees, preferably not involving the use of pesticides? SWALLOWTAIL BUTTERFLY LARVAE (Orange-Dog) The swallowtail butterfly will lay her eggs on leaves of citrus trees the larvae are the Orange dog caterpillars, which eat the leaves of citrus. Bug season in Florida is in full swing, and citrus bugs are no exception. I can email pics. A couple of years ago I planted a lemon and a lime tree in my garden. Citrus trees are versatile and do well in most climates, but there are lots of things that can give your lemon tree problems! Orange tree leaves chewed: Grapefruit tree leaves chewed: Grapefruit tree losing leaves: Peach tree leaves chewed: The only insects I have noticed on the tree is this, and each are about 1/2 inch long: Q: My Meyer lemon is about seven feet tall and is covered with small, green fruit, but it has lost most of its leaves. They've been growing quite well but recently I noticed the leaves are patchy and holey - something has been eating them. Grasshoppers, crickets, katydids and caterpillars sometimes feed on the leaves of the lemon tree and create fruit drop. Just keep an eye on it. But knowing what you're up against is the first step to a positive outcome. SWALLOWTAIL BUTTERFLY . The tree flowers and I have about 32 lemon fruit.I have sprayed it with Orchard spray and Marathon spray. Something is eating my orange, grapefruit, lemon, and peach tree leaves, but it is not touching my banana trees; SW Florida. Caterpillars especially, during summer and early fall, can feed on the leaves of the lemon tree until all the leaves are gone. Something is eating my lemon tree leaves! jeromy. Here are the conditions that can turn your lush greens to sour yellows: Changes in weather thanks for that, the lemon tree I planted about 3 years ago (and that hasn't grown much) has one like that at the beginning of the main branch. RELATED: Cumquats, Lemons, Mandarins and Oranges Causes of yellow leaves on citrus trees. What should I do? Hey gang, ... Once again over time, my potted lemon tree regained it's new leaves and flourished for the rest of the summer and well into fall before it was time to bring it indoors for the cold harsh weather we often get from out of nowhere in Dallas, TX. I have noticed that the leaves of the lemon tree … The orange tree has no fruit or blossoms as of yet, but I can see new growth coming from the ends of the branches. Something is eating my lemon tree leaves.