In article ,
Jo wrote:
Thanks for that Nick, I was unaware that HCH was one of the nasties.
Have a read of my previous post 'Clematis lost all their flowers' - just
above the HCH post. The reason I believe ants are causing the damage is
because I have seen a large number of ants crawling over the flowers (what
flowers are left!) and there is a large nest at the base of the plant.
My rockery is swarming with ants & woodlice & again there are small holes in
all the petals of all the flowers.

VERY unlikely. That is that they are the cause, not what you observe.
They may be following the insects that are doing the damage, or they
may even be preying on them. So killing the ants will either do no
good, or do positive harm.

It is just possible that the woodlice are causing the holes in the
base of the flowers, but it is still unlikely. They normally eat dead
material only.


Regards,
Nick Maclaren.