I’m not sure what those are, but the seem way too big and dark to be thrips. Hopefully someone will recognize them. I do find Spinosad very effective in controlling thrips ,catepillars and other chewing insects on blooms.

Thank you BenT. These are around 2 to 3 mm and they can fly. I home someone knows, there are too many to dream they could be anything good.

No, they are too large for flower thrips. Take one of your light colored blooms. Hold it upside down over a clean white sheet of paper. Tap it sharply several times then look at the paper under good light. You should see what appears to be dust specks moving around on the paper. THOSE are flower thrips. The same bugs which make your nose itch and you sneeze after smelling a flower. You know, what so many people think is the "pollen" causing them to sneeze. Nope, BUGS.

You mentioned that while you are seeing these larger black bugs that you are also seeing less thrips damage. Is it possible these are thrip predators?

Oh great bugs up the nose..yuck! lol Good info. I didnt know that :)

dianela, they almost look like some kind of beetle larvae but not sure what kind. The are shaped kinda likeLady Bug larave but they dont have the orange spots on their black bodies like the Lady Bugs. Maybe try an insect ID forum. Are you able to get a close up photo of one?

Thank you all for the replies. I should be able to get a good picture, I have many of them :(. I hope they are good. Stephanie if these things turn out to be thrip predators I would throw a party. I’ll try to take a better picture and post on the insect Id forum ( I didn’t think of that)

I agree with all the comments that these are not thrips. I also don't think they're thrips' predators. I have tried spinosad in the past, and it didn't do a thing. I usually ignore thrips, though I hate the things, and get plenty of them. In my garden for many years, the thrips, or something else, eats out the buds from the top down (not side) at the same time the thrips are doing their damage to petal edges. I've always thought this was thrips' damage, too, because they are the only insects I've ever seen on my roses--no larva, either. Thrips are incredibly tiny, as Kim as mentioned. Your only recourse, I think, is a granular systemic insecticide, which I have used on occasion for the three or four roses that are most susceptible to thrips' damage in my garden. I have abundant pollinators around here with a stable population. Diane

Diane thank you! Which systemic insecticide do you use? I might have to do that with some of my white roses. i also see a lot of buds that have been half eaten from the top like if they were an icecream cone.

Yes, that's exactly what happens to a few of my roses. I have to remove over half their buds sometimes. My susceptible roses are Evelyn, The Prince, and sometimes Colette and Augusta Luise. I think Abe Darby may be next. Anyway, on Amazon (or maybe locally available) Hi Yield systemic granules is available, and also Bonide granules, which comes in a larger container and will cost more. This stuff is not 100% effective and does take several weeks to be taken up by the plant. So you have to plan ahead. I may use it once a year. As I said, most the time, I just ignore thrips, but then I cuss our myself as I cut off messed up buds (discard them in trash not on the ground). Good Luck. Diane

Diane Thank you!

Before you spray, perhaps you may wish to re read this old 'blast from the past' and see if something FAR less damaging to you and your environment may help. "OMG Blue cup thrips control actually works!!" Perhaps we should start saving such threads for when the same issue continually repeat themselves so we don't have to reinvent the universe?

Kim this is not a spray. You sprinkle around the base of the plant and scratch it in. When I have used it in very limited conditions, it has caused no problems. Diane

Amen to that,Kim. I totally, totally agree.

Thank you for your comments roseseek. I totally understand your concerns and agree with the need to be conservative in the use of chemicals. Like Diane mentioned on her comment she only uses it on a few specific varieties that are greatly affected, which sounds pretty conservative to me. I will assess the damage and act as conservative as possible. Some times however the need outweighs the immediate risk and chemicals may be the answer.

Ok so I just wanted to thank everyone who posted and update. I posted on the insect ID page. It turns out they seem to be

Conotelus Obscurus: Adults feed on pollen without damaging the flower; in so. US, C. stenoides feeds on corn, and C. obscurus feeds inside cotton blossoms. They look like trips but are larger and don't actually eat my roses. Ill just keep an eye on them for now.

I’m glad you found its name. Usually someone jumps right in and knows all about the bug. And surprise, it’s not a bad guy...woohoo, party time!

How interesting . I dont think Ive seen those beetles here but I will watch for them now, out of curiosity lol. Good to know they aren't really harmful. Thanks for sharing.