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Rose leaves full of holes

14 years ago

Hi,

never posted here, but I can't figure out what is eating my climbing rose. I looked and can't find any bugs. It first I thought it was a fungus because the leaves had spots, but then there were the holes. Some leaves are almost completely eaten.

Thanks for any help

Katharina

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Comments (9)

yankeesrule
14 years ago
Rose slugs. Litte green bugs under the leaves They look like mini caterpillars, My kids get paid a quarter for everyone they squish, they think its fun.Those damn things will devour your leaves in a flash.if left alone.
york_rose
14 years ago
Rose slugs are my first thought, too. You obviously are contending with a critter (or critters) that chew(s) leaves as it(they) eat(s) them, that's for certain. Rose slugs do that, but often leave a remnant of the leaf behind when they're finished. The out & out complete holes might be caused by some rose slug(s), but could also be caused by some other pest that chews as it eats.

(Some pests, such as aphids, leafhoppers, plant bugs, and whiteflies suck as they eat, rather than chew. Consequently the damage they cause does not look like the image you have posted.)
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Wonder what they are? Post some pictures and I'll see what I can do. I make no promises about giving you species names, but I might be able to give you a general idea of what you're seeing. I've seen some smaller, tiny bees on the rose leaves also. There are MANY species of solitary bees, and most of them are very small. They're probably interested in collecting rose pollen to feed to their babies. It's not unusual for bees like this to collect pollen & nectar, make a ball out of the pollen (using the nectar as the binding agent), lay an egg on the ball, and then seal the whole thing inside a chamber and do it all over again in the next part of the tunnels they've already created. Native solitary bee species often live that way. The babies take a year to become adults, and so show up the following year to repeat the cycle. Some parts of the season they seem more agressive than others. Yellow jackets are more aggressive in late summer/early autumn because their source of food in the nest is diminishing. After they feed those killed insects to the babies back in the nest the babies secret a sugary fluid which the adults eat as food. That works great at this time year since the nest is growing in population and so there are more babies on the way then there are adults now (creating a situation in the nest where the adults have access to lots of food). By the end of the summer the queen isn't laying so many eggs as now, and so there are lots of adults, but fewer babies to rear (and thus less food in the nest for the adults). That means the adults have to look for sugary stuff outside the nest to satiate their hunger. That's why they become an aggressive nuisance at Labor Day cookouts & picnics.
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Evergreen hollies shed their old leaves about this time of year - that could explain the yellow ones if they are the old ones.
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Sounds very much like rose slug larvae damage, to me. Here are a couple of links to threads about rose slugs found by doing a search on this forum with some interesting information. There may be other threads on the Antique Rose Forum. http://forums2.gardenweb.com/forums/load/roses/msg1113121915397.html http://forums2.gardenweb.com/forums/load/roses/msg042021559569.html http://forums2.gardenweb.com/forums/load/roses/msg0512455712090.html Smiles, Lyn
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That is from roses slugs. There are three different types. The curled rose slug that will feed on the way up to your buds than eat those as well. The bristly rose slug that feeds on the foliage. It has repeated generations in a year. The regular rose slug ( sorry don’t know name ) that has one generation per year. My rose slugs are typically eaten by predators. So they are not that much of a problem. If however you or someone nearby is using a pesticide. You might not have many good bugs to help out. Rose slugs are little green (worm like) creatures that hatch from eggs that were laid earlier. They feed on the bottom of the leaf and are nearly the same color as the leaf.
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monica33flowers
14 years ago
It could even be Japanese Beetles.When my roses aren't in bloom they go after theleaves.
glaserberl
Original Author
14 years ago
Thank you all for the suggestions. I have not seen any critter at all.
Wait and see or what should I put something on it?
york_rose
14 years ago
If the cause is rose slugs (although it's getting a little late for that, at least where I live it is) you'll find them underneath the leaves with the newest damage. Very often (usually?) they're pale green. They always look a lot like caterpillars.
greenhaven
14 years ago
glaserberl, the implication is that rose slugs can be extremely difficult to see, especially ehen they are yound. They start out so tiny and so perfectly green that it can be a miracle to see them. But the damage the do is disproportionate to their size. One or two can rip through a bush in no time flat.

If your roses are not too prickly try "stroking" the chewed leaves, with especial pressure to the undersides. Likely you will feel them as they get squished; and squishing is the best way to eliminate them, even if it would be difficult on a climber.

Wasps are natural predators, so discouraging wasps hunting aorund your roses is ENcouraging rose slugs. Insecticidal soaps can work, but they take up to 24 hours to work and you do risk collateral damage to your "good" bugs, especially honeybees that should be protected at what might sometimes seem like ridiculous cost.
jim_east_coast_zn7
14 years ago
I have/had damage like that and saw a wasp hovering around and here I thought it was the culprit!
Jim
C Schaffner
14 years ago
I have tons of rose slugs now. My leaves look just like that. Does BT work on them? I sprayed last week and it didn't seem to help.
greenhaven
14 years ago
BT doesn't work on rose slugs because as larva they are not really caterpillars, only resemble them.

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