P.S. - After further investigation I'm seeing giant ants crawling all over
these flowers (haven't seen them actually eat anything yet though) and I
just noticed a strange looking beetle on one of them. The bug is brown and
black with antenna that split into three separate feelers at the end. It's
triangular shaped, like a shield bug, but those antennae are really throwing
me off. If it is a shield bug/stink bug, obviously I have to get rid of it,
but it shouldn't be chewing up my plants -- it should be sucking them dry.
And I haven't found anything to indicate that ants eat vincae either. Does
anyone have any ideas on the best way to get rid of the shield bugs, and how
to figure out what's eating these plants?

Thanks

"Mike C#" wrote in message
...
Hi all,

I have a little problem in my little flower garden. I have 5 - 6
different types of flowers in it including Impatiens, New Zealand
Impatiens, Begonias and Vincae(sp?). Everything seems to be doing well,
except the Vincae... The leaves are being *eaten* by something. I'm
seeing large chunks and holes taken out of them. Also some of the petals
are being eaten, and others are popped off at the stem as if they were
either sliced off or ejected off by the plant itself(!?) None of the
other flowers are being affected...

The only info I found about vinca-eating insects are aphids, but even they
don't appear to eat large chunks of the leaves and petals? Or do they? I
also saw a large ant crawling on one of the dropped petals. Is it
possible that the ants are eating up these plants? If so, any idea why
they wouldn't attack the others? And what can I do about them?

Thanks