Whats causing this.

[davidwood]

I am having an outbreak of deformed and half eaten blooms. As the photo on this Saffron shows  I am missing 2 petals, its now also starting to affect Hot Pepper.
At first because of the white stuff I could see I thought it was Mealy bugs, I get allot of that and Safari will usually sort it out, but on a closer inspection I see its not Mealey's, Mealey's leave a white sticky residue and they are more under the leaf than on the bud, whatever is causing this is  leaving a white crystal powder and leaving it just on the bud.
Anyone got any idea what it could be and how I can treat it.

I do use Kontos and my whole garden gets a weekly spray of Spinosad.

[Charlie]

David, were the missing petals eaten after opening or were they not there when the flower opened?

Systemic pesticides like Kontos almost never make it into the buds. That's why you will see aphids all over the buds but not on leaves of treated plants. Not sure about the "crystalline powder" you are seeing. Photo?

Pests that eat flower petals include snails and slugs (nighttime feeders), grasshoppers, caterpillars, rabbits, mice, rats, and squirrels as well as bigger critters like dogs and deer. You almost have to catch them in the act to know for sure what does it. In my greenhouse something eats flower petals during the night if the flowers are close enough to the ground for them to reach. I still don't know what it is but it eats in a circular pattern and can reduce an 8 inch flower to about 3 inches overnight.

Charlie

[davidwood]

Charlie when the buds opened on Saffron the 2 petals just weren't there, now whats strange is on the bud today of Hot Pepper I had 4 normal petals and 1 complete petal but about half the size.
 To me it does not look like something is eating them but more just deformed, in fact some time I can see the bud as it is developing is not quite the right shape.
Now this is only a guess but could it be some insect that is getting in or around the bud, this would explain the white residue powder that is in and around the bud and doing the damage from the inside. I will try to take better photo's if it persists, but a few hours ago I gave it a very good spray with Neem Oil so maybe it will stop.
Interestingly as well its not every bud, just a a couple on each cv and so far 3 cv's in total.

The more I read and research it sounds like Thrips, whats confusing me though is this white powder that is allways around or on the bud that is affected, as far as I know Thrips dont leave white stuff.

[davidwood]

Well I have another bloom with a problem, this believe it or not is a 1 inch Hot Pepper, totally twisted up and deformed.

But I think I may have figured out what it is, and it is maybe Mealybugs after all, I know I said before it wasn't but when you said about the Kontos almost never make it into the buds. That's why you will see aphids all over the buds but not on leaves of treated plants, well i assumed as there was no sign at all of Mealey's on the leaves it couldn't be them. It would certainly explain the small white residue [ to small for me to take a photo], so I will treat as Mealey's and see what happens. Certainly hope it is as I can get rid of that easily and its as you can see causing havoc with the bud.