Hi Toni, this is a mystery, isn't it? Let's try to narrow things down a bit. I know what your little bitey culprit is, by the way. First of all, I believe that these little things look like aphids....but they aren't. Thank goodness, right? I think that most people know that aphids can develop wings but do so only to escape very crowded condition or to find a mate. Winged aphids will be found on or near plants. They do not bite. (Ants are not required for aphid populations.) Citrusboy should have been more persistent in his research! Biting thrips are almost certainly the cause behind your misery. They come in a variety of colors. Some people might not even be aware that thrips fly and will even form swarms. I'm afraid that your only recourse is to use a repellent on your skin. This can be something as simple as a body lotion. Believe it or not, they aren't after our blood at all but are simply inserting those saw -like mouthparts to see what kind of plant you might be....and if you are tasty! The stab of biting thrips can cause a mild allergic reaction, a rash, itching, Their bites can be surprisingly painful, considering how small they are.

Thanks for all of the positive comments..You are all way to gracious as I'm really not a writer..I always have all of this stuff in my head but I hate to write or type so it never gets down on paper too often..I suppose one of these days I'll write some sort of memory type book before mine(Memory) has diminished to the point where it's all fuzzy..It's funny, this little thing we call life..How when your young you wish it would hurry up and as you start reaching into middle age, you wish nothing more that it would slow down..LOL..I feel in my heart where I differ from the "franchise" is that I would do it anyway whether I made another dollar from it or not..I really do enjoy it..I do not like the business aspect of it that much as far as the filling of orders and dealing with habitual complainers. But that's part of it and it goes with the territory...I do not want to be known as someone who just introdused a pretty face or another mauve with a eye and matching edge...LOL..Not slamming them..Just think that the eye and edge thing has run amuck..I would love to see even bigger full forms up to 10" or so on statuesque plants in the 4-6 foot range..That would be a worthy path I feel..Instead of clogging up the 24-30 inch height range with more of the same..(we still hybridize full forms btw) I just got off the phone with Brian Mahieu earlier tonight telling him how excited I was to see such good plants in our intro's...Plants, not just a face...As I have filled hundreds of orders this spring it has become evident that both Brian and myself have taken the right path in selecting for the plant before the bloom. Details such as mature clumps that just fall apart instead of having to hack up woody type clusters of crowns..Things like beautiful cool mint green foliage that almost has a waxy look to it, and foliage of different colors of burgundy and purple and a few stable variegated ones as well...I loved digging a clump of Svenska today..The fans were spaced apart far enough to lay your fingers in between them on mature clumps..And then to discover this mint green foliage with burgundy pink edges on every leaf was a nice treat as well..I noticed a clump of a select seedling that was completely chartreuse in color..The only one in the field. Not sick or iron defficient, just a very healthy chartreuse...Can't wait to see it bloom..This is a few of the reasons I do this..To really try to get "plants" out there..I lopve trying to figure out why a cross isn't taking..I did probably 30-40 attempts with Scandinavian pollen on Brushed By Bluebirds with not one pod...on my last attempt I selfed BBB and it pulled the trigger and all 20 of my BBB pods with Scandinavia pollen took giving me 96 seeds..Things like that is why I do it...To try and get pods on plants that are pod infertile is a goal for me..I have had some luck doing everything from spraying different sprays to just pleading with the daylily Gods..LOL..Another thing Brain and me play around with is utilizing Tet. pollen via unreduced gametes..We have alot of luck with this and what better way to get Tet genes into your programs..I love good buds and branching..Someting I'm getting better at than when I started...I have some insanely branched and Budded seedlings with amazing increase and rhisomates growth like Kwanso that have come out of crosses like (Citrina X Linda)X (Galaxy Explosion X Hankow)X (Jungle Fowl X Thorhalla) X (Species X Species)..Once you get a line of breeding like that, you can then be assured of a total plant and then have an aweful lot of fun playing around with the blooms..I dont do it for recognition..I dont do it to conform to the standard..I dont go to shows, and don't have time to visit other gardens..I don't care about awards or ribbons..My fulfillment for this is rather simple and I am rewarded every morning I get to see the sunrise and watch all the Bluebirds we have, to watch our little pygmy goats and donkeys play..To have my faithful sidekick cat Mango come to me and love on me without judgement..and to be able to see that seedling bloom for the first time..And of course my family whom without my wife Laura, I would in no way be able to get it all done..My boys are a big help as well...I love all the people I have met..I love seeing peoples faces when they see a bloom that is speacial to there eye and then laugh when they leave with a yellow nose without telling them..I hope all of us who enjoy gardening and daylilies in particular can reflest like this from time to time and not forget why we do this...Antway, enough of my ramblings...Hope I didn't bore the heck out of ya..Later Taters...David.

Hello I have been in battle for about three years, your hibiscus has Thrips and could possibly have Hibiscus gall midge. I have 20ft x 15ft hibiscus (tree). I have been dealing with this for several years. The gall midge is easy to tell put your fallen buds in a ziplock bag and look at bag after 12 to 24 hrs you will see tiny yellow worms. I find the larve like to go to the top of the bag where the zipper is. Thrips are usually the reason for cut looking buds. I personally never had a cut worm attack my hibiscus they like other stuff in my yard better. Spraying the tree will work for the Thrips Bayer 3 in 1 is good but unfortunately the Gall Midge is way more difficult. The adult midge is a tiny fly they lay eggs on in the new buds the egss hatch and the larve eat the inside of the bud, when the bud falls to the ground the larve immerge from the bud into soil where they remain until they are adult midges and fly, then the entire cycle starts all over. Treating your hibiscus with a systemic is the best way to rid your hibiscus, but fallen buds MUST be picked up. I go shake my hibiscus several times a day trying to get the buds before they fall off on their own. Those worms in the picture are gall midge larva. The midge larve is capable of jumping several feet. I just recently had my hibiscus trimmed of 90% of the buds and I'm currently using a two part control system treating soil and treating the tree with two different insecticides off setting each weekly. I hate pesticides but all my other avenue's of natural control or mild cotrol have failed miserably so this is my last ditch effort. The most common insecticide that is a systemic is Imidacloprid the same stuff my neighbors use for ficus whitefly and I believe that my midges are immune to imidacloprid. I wish you luck and hope you only have Thrips.

Also agree with oldrosarian that it's botrytis & caused by weather conditions. Occurs on many types of plants, not just roses. Usually the brown sunken spot beneath the rose bud is the first sign. I just snip the bud stem off where the next leaves emerge - in your first photo, right below your pinky finger on the hand holding the bud - and immediately trash it in a plastic or paper bag. Dip the flower snips in 80% isopropyl/rubbing alcohol between cuts. Any buds or blooms so affected get the same treatment. Most often, as in your pics, only some of the buds & or blooms are problematic & those are removed, while those not showing any indications are left to bloom. If the condition's gone undetected & spread farther into the canes, those are pruned off below the brown at a clean node or leaf junction, again with pruners dipped in rubbing alcohol between cuts. A dab of Elmer's all purpose glue in the squeeze bottle for larger cuts on canes provides a temporary bandaid to keep it clean while it heals. Remove & trash any buds, blooms, petals, stems, leaves that have fallen to the ground beneath/around the plant. That's all I've ever done to treat it when it pops up. This is one of the few times I break my rule of not working on roses when they're wet, as getting those buds or flowers & stems off pronto is important to stop any spreading. If left too long, the spores will mature on stricken parts & emit a visible "dust" as they disperse. Ludwig's has a good explanation page with clickable photos: http://www.ludwigsroses.co.za/rose-care/botrytis/ Regular sized rose pruners are a bit clumsy for removing buds, so garden snips work well. Having misplaced a number of those out in the garden over the years, found inexpensive sewing snips at my local Kroger's grocery that I love. The handles are padded "soft squeeze" & open form so very easy to use. But their best feature is the way the one handle forms a hook so I can hang them from a pocket or belt loop & along the edge of a small garden pail. (That pail holds alcohol in jars sized for snips & pruners along with a miscellany of small tools & aids.) Haven't lost a pair of these snips yet, but stash a few back-ups as they're so handy. This site incorrectly states the total length over 8", but they're really less than 5" with the blades less than 2". Great for snipping out the older blown flowers in a cluster of blooms, too. http://tinyurl.com/jff86me