Las Vegas Sun

March 28, 2024

In this Friday, July 25, 2014 photo, a sign in the Florida Citrus Tower points west to Florida's citrus growing region, in Clermont, Fla. The observation tower was built in 1956 as a tourist attraction to view miles of citrus groves. Today Florida's $9 billion citrus industry is facing its biggest threat yet by a tiny invasive bug called the Asian Citrus Psyllid, which carries bacteria that are left behind when the psyllid feeds on a citrus tree's leaves. Eventually disease clogs the tree's vascular system and the tree slowly dies.

AP Photo / Lynne Sladky

In this Friday, July 25, 2014 photo, a sign in the Florida Citrus Tower points west to Florida's citrus growing region, in Clermont, Fla. The observation tower was built in 1956 as a tourist attraction to view miles of citrus groves. Today Florida's $9 billion citrus industry is facing its biggest threat yet by a tiny invasive bug called the Asian Citrus Psyllid, which carries bacteria that are left behind when the psyllid feeds on a citrus tree's leaves. Eventually disease clogs the tree's vascular system and the tree slowly dies.