Nasty. Also have you seen young grasshoppers yet?

Not sure but I always called them rose slugs. I sometimes find them wrapped around the bud. Sometimes find rose leaves stuck together like a little home it is found inside. Just found one yesterday that I squished. I usually find them in spring and they stay with the same rose until I catch them. Last year Lady of Shallot had 2 or 3 they ate quite a few buds till I found them wrapped around the bud munching away.

Like irisgal said grasshoppers will do the same type of damage to your buds.

From the pic I'm not sure if that's a rose slug or some type of caterpillar? Our curled Rose Slug does munch alittle on buds and I find them inside the petals once in awhile but not often...

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How can you tell the difference between a sawfly larva and a caterpillar? Count the prolegs. Caterpillars may have up to five pairs of abdominal prolegs (seeparts of a caterpillar diagram), but never have more than five pairs.

Sawfly larvae will have six or more pairs of abdominal prolegs*. Another notable difference, though it requires a closer look, is that caterpillars have tiny hooks called crochets, on the ends of their prolegs. Sawflies don't.

Another, less obvious difference between caterpillars and sawfly larvae is the number of eyes. Caterpillars almost always have 12 stemmata, 6 on each side of the head. Sawfly larvae usually have just a single pair of stemmata.

Haven't seen any grasshoppers ever but will keep an eye out. I definitely do not think it is pear sawfly larvae. I had those last year and they would only chew up my leaves.

Definitely not the critter in the picture below.

http://apps.rhs.org.uk/Advice/ACEImages//RHS_SCN0006527_539212.jpg

Those are in the Caterpillars catagory...Never seen those before...

I went out and bought some BTK insecticide to deal with them. I hope it works! Lucky you haven't seen them before Jim, these guys RUIN blooms.