Sounds like earwigs. Go out tonight with a flashlight, you'll probably see those ugly buggers.

Pruning them is never a mistake. It will be beneficial.

Sluggo Plus is labeled for earwigs. They have plagued me in the past.

Why don't they plague you now?

Cutworms are doing the same thing to some of mine.
Grrrrrrrr!!

Oh, that's depressing. I don't think that is earwig damage.

No, that looks like something bigger than an earwig but it will come back.

I've been using Sluggo Plus for a couple years now and have reduced earwig populations in my garden. Now, to reduce root weevil populations....

Maggiepie, I don't know if this works for cutworms but I want to try it:

"To keep cut worms from cutting off individual plants simply push a small stick a couple of inches down on each side of the plant stem. a cutworm eats around the stem and this will prevent them from doing any harm to the plant. I have never lot a plant of any kind to a cutworm since using this method"

Quoted in GW Vines Forum, for quote see post near bottom of page:
http://www.dirtdoctor.com

Link to post & thread below. It's ok, isn't it, to quote here as long as I give ref? I'm a newbie so please help me GW netiquette. (I'm still struggling with my baby clems & really appreciate the help that I get here.)
JMG sprouts problem/help

It could be rabbits or deer. I had many stems cut off last year about 6-8 inches from the base of the plant. Hate it when the vine is about to bloom and then wilts because it was cut off. I put fencing around the lower parts of the plants and haven't had any damage this year. With the early spring there has been very little rabbit/deer damage even though I have seen rabbits about.

The plant should put out new growth from the crown.

Several years ago a friend had a huge, established clem turn brown, found rabbits had chewed off all the stems! That's when I headed for the home improvement store to buy several rolls of green vinyl-covered chicken wire. We have all our clems fenced now, about 12" high.

Yes, I had to fence most of mine at the base, too. You don't see the fencing after they start to grow.

It's not rabbits as I have seen any around here. It could rodents of somekind even voles/moles as we all had grass damage from them over the winter. New construction is going on around here.

This morning I transplated some chives around the clematis, garlic would have been better but don't have any. Next step will be mouse traps with butter and then maybe will have to fence them all in and hope for the best.

Thanks for all of the responses.

Thanks river crossroads, have heard of putting collars around plants but not the stick method. Can't hurt to try it.
Usually after finding a new shoot lying on the ground you can often find the grub by digging around in the area. I usually carry an old pair of scissors and snip them in half.
Bit messy but very satisfactory!!

...just to let you know this morning I saw a baby rabbit running around so he could be the culprit

A chicken wire collar around the base of the plant should protect from rabbits.