where are you.. z5 is about half the US... ken

Plainfield Il Z5

Mine has huge holes & half-eaten leaves... I blame slugs.

Here is a picture of the bug.

Hi John,

Your pictures show just cosmetic damage. And that single bug looks almost harmless. Have these little guys managed to cause serious damage in the past? I thought Rust was supposed to be the main problem with Hollyhocks.

ZM

Your damage looks like earwigs. It is about the time that the babies hatch but you won't see them in the daytime. Check after dark. The babies are grey noit red like their parents and they are veracious feeders. Here's my cure for earwigs

Bait for Earwigs.

Equal
parts of soy sauce, cooking oil and (molasses or corn syrup). The molasses or
syrup is bait to attract them--the oil doesn't allow them to crawl back out and
the salt in the soy sauce finishes them off and makes the mixture dark so they
think it is just a hole. Put it in a small container— I use those small scoops
from laundry soap and place but you can use any small container
even the bottom of a soda or water bottle
and anything for a lid. Cover 1/2 inch of the bottom of the
container with the mixture and bury it up to the brim in the soil where you
have a problem with them. Prop a lid over it--I use a stone-- so it doesn't get diluted by rain
and so it is a nice dark place for them to hide for the day--ha. When you prop
the lid, leave a small space for them to crawl into the container. You might
have to wait a couple of days for it to work, but the first time I tried it I
used a baby food bottle and it was full to the brim with little grey baby
earwigs the next morning. I was surprised at just how many I did get. Try it.
It really works

Japanese beetles also love hollyhocks, but they cause much more damage than your pictures. The leaves look like lace, with only the structural ribbing left.

I don't think this Japanese Beetle work. They don't show up until July or August here in Plainfield, IL.

I am not far from you and I have the same issue.

Gracie what did you do for it?

Nothing; it's just on one plant for some reason.