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mystery insect causing holes and skeletonising my rose leaves

jazzyjinxjazzyjinx Posts: 7
in The potting shed
over the Summer my roses were attacked by tiny green , slender insects that started off making holes and eventually leaving only the skeleton of the leaf on my roses. If i touched the plant they leapt away like a springs and then settled again. I try to grow without pesticides but this beastie had me wanting to reach for the bug killer.

Posts

  • Pete.8Pete.8 Posts: 11,340
    Possibly some sort of sawfly larvae - they can leave a rose leaf looking skeletonized 

    Billericay - Essex

    Knowledge is knowing that a tomato is a fruit.
    Wisdom is not putting it in a fruit salad.
  • TopbirdTopbird Posts: 8,355
    edited October 2018
    Certainly sounds like saw fly. It can be controlled with chemicals but I prefer to keep a watchful eye and pick & squish as soon as they appear when the infestation is not too bad. I also cut off clusters of leaves which have already been damaged or are covered in the little blighters. They were bad early this year and attacked all my roses.
    Heaven is ... sitting in the garden with a G&T and a cat while watching the sun go down
  • RubytooRubytoo Posts: 1,630
    Like this? Little so and so had a lot of mates, on willow here,  we also had so many, it was like a plague on the roses this year, a real pain. Did what Topbird did, cutting off clusters. A tell tale sign is little slightly elongated bulges on the stems, where the eggs are laid.
    https://www.flickr.com/photos/harrt/43426523241/in/album-72157693223338590/

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