Oh, how decorative! Earwigs, possibly? They just luuuurve Dahlias! Stick a cane in the ground with an up-turned flowerpot filled with straw or crumpled newspaper near the afflicted plant, and tomorrow morning, creep out and shake it out... then run for your life if you don't like the critters, Ba! ;-(

Lol Spritz, there are a few earwigs in my garden, I'd heard they are good predators and ,....they're also very good mothers...for an insect that is. Do you think I should go round it with scissors to even it off? :-)):-)

Could this have been done by one earwig ?:-)

I wouldn't have thought so, Ba, I guess they had a party. Didn't you hear the music?

Up to you if you want it to look more....errrrr... aesthetically pleasing! I think I might well do some snipping if it were mine. Sorry that's happened...really. :-((

Yes, you sound it lol. I've got loads more on the same plant, it's huge, and to tell the truth, I'm not as keen on it as I thought I would be from the pic:-)

I think it's a pretty one! It looks big...is it?

I really am sorry - I hate seeing munched flowers. Apologies if I was a little facetious. :-((

I reckon its earwigs too - my dad loved dahlias, grew prize ones, I hated them, mostly because each one had a cane next to it with an upturned flowerpot full of straw on the top - every morning he'd go out and empty the pots and stamp on the earwigs, or tip them into a bucket of water. I was a kid and I used to think, why bother? I don't even like the flowers that much anyway, too plastic and perfect. l now do like one or two dahlias, but the more simple ones like Bishop of Llandaff. Just thought I'd share that with you, lol.

Thanks for sharing that Bamboo, what about all their little babies waiting for mum to come home?:-) Spritz it's a whopper, I didn't know they would have to be staked and had to do a Heath Robinson job when one branch split away:-) A sad story now, my massive Heuchera Georgia Peach, in a big pot, has had its roots removed by vine weevil grubs. I stood on those Bamboo:-(

Yea, little beggars they are, I'd like an AK47 for them...

Would that work Bamboo?:-)

What fun, Bamboo - is it GOY standard issue? LOL.

Just as well its not standard issue, Spritz, there are times when I'd be hugely tempted to use it on the neighbours...

Me too! lol.