What's eating my clematis buds?

My 3 clematis plants are loaded with buds, and one has ju-u-ust started to open.
But to my dismay, I've seen two buds that have holes chewed in them. Looks like whatever was nibbling went right along the "ribs" of the bud, and maybe two or three ribs across. The chewed areas are about 1/4 inch wide, 3/4 inch long.
(I have a photo but it's at home and I'm not!)

Is it inside the bud, chewing it's way out, or the other way 'round? What can I treat it with? I'd like to get control of this before it gets out of hand, if it will.

Thanks in advance!

Probably a beetle or caterpillar. I would check inside and see if the culprit is in there. Usually an egg is laid on the outside, hatches, and the larval stage chews its way into the bud, pupates there, and then emerges as an adult.

...duh...
I didn't think to actually pluck the bud & check it out more thoroughly!
Here's the picture. And today I noticed two more buds, one which is partially opened and very chewed.

So do I spray, and if so, with what? I guess if there's a larva inside the buds, there's not much I can do? :-(

Also, I don't know if this is related, or a different problem completely.
I noticed these few leaves that are crinkled and discolored.
(The whitish area is glare; the discoloration is actually very dark green, almost black.)

The leaves look like thay have thrips damage. Thrips is a very small insect that sucks the juice from a cell of the plant, then when the leaf tries to grow, those cells can't expand, hence the cupping and distorted look to the edges. Did you ever look inside a bud to see if anything was in there? Do that, and if you can't find anything, take a white piece of paper, then shake the bud hard over it, or hit the bud onto the paper. Watch carefully, and see if anything moves. Thrips look like a tiny pencil marking you would make, but the giveaway is that they move. The treatment really depends on what the problem is....

Found this on a clematis site: Thrips can cause distorted foliage and flowers. Good control has been achieved with weekly sprays of Talstar, Orthene and Azatin, or Avid and Azatin. Isotox is another. I hate to resort to these heavy duty chemicals, but I can't find anything better. You could call your local Extension Office and see if they have any other thoughts...

Thanks so much for the advice, ceejaytown. I'll do the white paper thing as soon as it stops raining here in Pittsburgh. It started last Sunday and isn't supposed to quit till next Monday. We're about ready to start building an ark...*groan*....

I didn't want to leave you with the wrong impression - the hole in the clematis buds is NOT caused by thrips. That is a chewing insect - again, a beetle (or beetle larva) or caterpillar. But whatever you use for the thrips will control that too.

Edited: Oh yes, open that bud before you start pounding away....

This message was edited May 19, 2006 11:41 PM