Don't worry about the leaf-cutter bees. They'll get done building their nests real soon, and go away.
One way to lessen their impact in future is to make sure there's no old rotting wood, fallen logs and the like around.
We used to have a fair amount of that.
Got rid of it, and haven't seen a leaf-cutter bee in years.

But really, other than those zippy holes, they're pretty harmless, and they're a kick to watch.
Isn't it interesting the way they prefer certain roses over others?

Jeri

Leaf cutter bees do not eat the leaf. They use it in their nest to make brooding chambers. Therefore a systemic insecticide won't work on them. Be aware Leaf cutter bees are pollinators. As such it's not advised to kill them.
Unless you have a "Perfect leaf phobia" or perfect leaves are that important to you, the optional link below has some ideas to make them move on without killing them.
While they can make the leaves look bad, they really don't harm the plant.
I just live with the damage.

About the brown spot. If the leaves are healthy and not wilting above it, leave it alone. If the leaves and cane above it turn yellow or dry up, cut it off below the spot.

Rose Weevils; (copied from Baldo Villegas's bug site.)
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Bud damage to immature buds of roses. Weevils use the buds for feeding and laying their eggs.

The rose curculio or rose weevil is a reddish and black weevil with a distinctive long snout on the head. It is about 1/4 inch (5-6 mm) in body lenght. The snout is used for drilling and feeding on flower buds. Its scientific name is Merhynchites (=Rhynchites) bicolor Fabricius and it is a member of the Order Coleoptera, Family Curculionidae. It occurs throughout the United States. There are several color forms which at various times have been recognized as species or subspecies.
Rose weevils damage to roses in several different ways. First the weevils damage roses by making feeding punctures with their long beaks on rose buds, calyx, and peduncle. Secondly the weevils lay their eggs in the buds and the larvae feed on the petals and receptacle area. If any flowers manage to open, the petals show distinct small holes made by the adults.

The adults drill small round holes deep into the flower buds and hips for feeding and egg-laying. Eggs are usually laid in the hip or ovary and the small white larvae feed on the reproductive parts. The greatest damage to roses is cause when adults feed on flower buds. The adult punctures the floral parts contained inside buds. Later, if the flowers suceed in opeining, these flowral parts are riddled with holes, resulting in ragged , unsightly blossoms. If flower buds are not plentiful, the adult curculio may feed on the tips of new rose shoots, causing the death of terminals. At other times it gouges the stems of buds, causing the bud to wilt and die.

LIFE CYCLE: Adults emerge from the soil in the spring and they look for young, flower buds to feed on and lay their eggs. After a few days the larvae hatch from the eggs and feed on the reproductive parts of the flower buds. The larvae may continue development on buds that remain on the plant and on those that fall to the ground. Fully grown larvae They also feed on rose hips, which are located below the bud. The adults drill holes in the hip or bud for food. Then they turn around and lay there eggs. Since the adult made holes in the buds, the peduncle (stem right below the hip) becomes weak and eventually the buds fall off. The larva emerges from the fallen rose bud and then burrows into the soil where it hibernates (overwinters). In late winter or early spring depending on the soil temperature, the larva turns into a pupa and after a few days, the adult emerge from the pupa and from the soil to start the life cycle over again. There is only one generation per year.

CONTROL: Scouting or monitoring for the presence of rose weevils is very important for adequate control. Rose weevils start to damage roses at the first sight of bud formation and they tend to prefer certain roses more than others. Keeping notes on varietal preference is important for successful scouting the and control of the weevils early before they cause widespread damage on the roses. In the absence of buds on preferred varieties, the weevils will feed on growing tips.

Regular handpicking of the adult weevils and removal of damaged buds and spent blossoms will prevent continuing damage and will prevent severe populations the following year. Scouting and handpicking should also be done on other hosts such as raspberries and boysenberries, and blackberries. Adult weevils drop readily from plants and feign death when disturbed. In order to take advantage of this behavior, collect the adult curculios with a wide mouth container half full of soapy water. Touch the plant parts where the weevils are feeding and they readily fall down into the soapy water and drown. Rose buds or entire rose bushes can be protected using a netting material that allows sunlight and water to penetrate but excludes insects. Bonnets made with a material called "remay" have been used successfully by rosarians in parts of the United States to exclude insect pests like Japanese beetles, cucumber beetles, and even thrips. Parasitic nematodes can be used against rose weevil larvae provided that larval populations are located prior to spring emergence. Gardens where the infested buds are allowed to fall to the soil would be prime candidates for this biological control method.
Hand picking is a very effective method of dealing with this annoying pest in the early spring months. In my garden near Sacramento, California the weevils usually show up from early April thorough early May.

If the above control methods do not achieve satisfactory control, chemical insecticides may be are considered for larval and adult weevil control. If a larvae are recovered from the soil, insecticides registered for soil use can be used around the rose bushes in order to kill the soil ihnabiting larvae and emerging weevils. Insecticides can also be sprayed at the first sign of the weevils presence in the spring. Insecticides used in the control of beetles on roses and other ornamentas should work on these weevils. Please check the label and read all the precautions on the insecticide label before using any insecticides.

Here is a link that might be useful: Leaf cutter bees

Thank you so much for your advise and information!! The leaf damage doesn't really bother me, but I just wanted to be sure that was all the damage they will do. They certainly do seem to have a preference for certain roses! I've only seen one in action, but they sure have been busy the last few days. I'll keep an eye on JFK for yellowing or drying and keep watching for the weevils and getting rid of them.

I can't figure out how to get pictures up, I must be missing something.

Any clue as to why Gertrude's buds are yellowing and drooping? She is at the end of her first flush.

Thank you so much for your help Jerijen and Karl!!!!

Roselover, to get photos up, you'll need to get a Photobucket account (free).
They will create a link to the photos you upload, which you can then paste into your message.

Jeri

Okay, I uploaded pictures of Gertrude to photobucket. Two are of the current damage and the third is of her about a week ago in great shape. We'll see if I did it right, crossing my fingers!!

Here is a link that might be useful: {{gwi:299295}}

Okay, that was the healthy picture. Here is the current picture of her buds drooping and yellowing. I can see a little white stuff, but that is from the cottonwood trees in the area.

Here is a link that might be useful: {{gwi:299296}}

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Have you gotten some hot weather lately?

Yep, it is hot!! It has been gradually getting hotter and drier here on the front range, high 80's today and into the 90's tomorrow. Been checking the soil and keeping it moist. Gertrude and my daisies have been wilting midday and then bouncing back when the shade hits. Could the heat be it?

Thanks Hoovb!

Roselover, e-mail me and I'll work with you so you can post pictures.
{{gwi:299295}}

thanx for the info on leaf-cutter bees.....my roses look as if someone went out with a hole punch.
we have had them in previous years...but never this heavy.
they seem to prefer my pink roses the best!

carol

anytime a bud or stem droops, it means you need to water generally. Try that first. they should perk up quickly.

Look closely at the drooping buds to see if they show signs below the bud, on the peduncle, of small drill holes from rose weevils/curculios. Curculios drill holes in the buds, through the petals, and/or through the peduncle, sometimes low enough to kill the bud or causing it to tip over to one side. If the bud was very small, then a curculio drill hole will cause the bud to wither and die. Here is a shot showing that kind of damage.

If you see curculio drill holes anywhere, a curculio (or three or five) is hiding on your plant. Search and destroy. Remove all curculio-damaged buds from the plant and the ground and either burn them or put them in the trash, not the green can. I've found that after checking the top of the plant, if I sit on the ground next to it, I will find more curculios by looking up toward the buds from below. They hide and drop and play dead, listing over to one side on the ground. They won't bite you and should be drowned in soapy water or crushed.

Curculios are reported to have a single season here, which has been at least a month so far. I am trying my best to interrupt their life cycle this year. In addition to more deadheading and removal of spent bloom, with fanatical cleanup, I plan to follow up with heavy cardboard or newspaper under the mulch this winter around the affected roses, which happen to be poiple (three Outta the Blues and one Route 66).

One rosarian believes that underplanting with matlike companion plants (like creeping thyme) suppresses curculios. I haven't tested that out yet because underplanting makes it so much harder to clean up under roses.

Here is a link that might be useful: Curculios and their damage

Well, I've been checking them 2 or 3 times daily and have found a few more curculios. So I just remove them and smoosh them. I also waited for the leaf cutters to be done and just applied the Bayer 2 in 1 today (I found evidence of thrips on JFK when it's blooms started opening up). Gertrude has for the most part finished her first flush and I've been pruning her back. I think I read somewhere on this forum that it is good to prune her back to get another flush.

I've been caught up with the kids being home for sumer and haven't had much time for the yard or the computer until today. Hoovb, I'll have to get an email out to you on the picture thing.

I found some gooey white oblong/round things under the mulch today. Freaked out for a minute and then my husband informed me they are probably snails. Yuk!! Also a grasshopper was nibbling on my Tahitian Sunset, just flicked him off and I have one more bud on it.

What a joy it is to walk out and just look and smell the roses!! I can't wait until the next flush!! Now if only the bunnies would stop eating my sunflower seedlings!!!

Drooping, unopened buds, accompanied by a small discolored
stem slightly below the bud is caused by Rose Midge...

That might be what has happened to your GJ...