I would guess a sawfly. I have similar damage on two roses in the same area and one bush in the front yard. I have wasps in my yard, and unfortunately a nice nest on the porch that we have to deal with. I assume that the wasps got to any that remained. It could also be some kind of caterpillar.

Here are images of sawfly damage.

Lynn

This post was edited by desertgarden561 on Sat, Oct 12, 13 at 22:59

Only one place on only one bush? A lonely sawfly.

Here's another image.

Lynn

The translucent spots are caused by young rose slugs grazing on the lower surface of the leaf while leaving the top cuticle intact. Larger rose slugs make the clean angular holes and may skeletonize the leaf.

I had damage like this in early spring of 2012. I described the damage to the Regan Nursery rosarian by phone. She said since she couldn't really see the damage, she would say that it was probably rose slugs or some of the more aggressive damage could be black vine weevil. She explained what to look for and I realized that the bugs that I had seen were the weevils. But either way, she said that beneficial nematodes would fix the problem.

I purchased them from Orcon in Calif. and within a short period of time, the problem was solved.

However, I just noticed last month that I had some more of the same damage. I also realized that I had not re-applied more of the nematodes, so I have now applied a new shipment. Orcon says that nematodes can last up to 2 years, but it's best to apply yearly.

andea

Yep what Michaelg said ....

I took what I thought was a interesting pic awhile back...
Yellow jacket wasp taking care of business on a curled rose slug...(sawfly larvea)

{{gwi:293295}}

This post was edited by jim1961 on Sun, Oct 13, 13 at 12:27

Jim, what a great picture. Is the worm too big for her to carry home?--maybe she'll field dress it and carve it into steaks.

Michaelg...lol
It looked like the yellow jacket stung the Rose Slug...
Then later moved on in search of more insects...
A bit later the RS was gone???....
So yes maybe carved into steaks...lol
I really don't know...lol

i did it nunm num num num lol

Would the little slimy things that hatch from sawfly larvae be the same as a rose slug, or are you all referring to something different? I know that the PNW and many other areas get slugs in their garden, and they wreak havoc on roses and all kinds of things; would deervssteve's culprit be the same kind pest?

Lynn

No, rose slugs aren't actually slugs (slimy molluscs): they are sawfly larvae, green worms.

I have a bunch of rose slugs this time of year. I'm hoping the birds notice them. I may do a bit of spinosad on some roses that are crazy with them to bump down the population a notch, but I may wait till the spring hatch since frost is coming.

Jim, that's an awesome picture! I saw a wasp carry away a curled rose slug. He just flew off with it (I didn't notice him before he was flying, so I didn't see a sting). Pretty cool :)