This same bug devastated one of my shrubs last year, and now is on another. There are little buggers on the stems in a clump, ants seem to really like eating them. The damage is to the soft part of the leaves. Please help. The photos give me the willies even.
what kind of bush is it? the ants could be 'farming' the bugs. i want to say they are scale bugs - looking at the pic on the right in expanded view, i'm not sure that's what they are, though. they could be aphids - ants are known to 'farm' them.
Maybe you have 2 problems here. The aphids are sucking the "sap" from the stem, but I don't think they are eating holes in your leaves. I find Safer's Insecticidal soap (or whatever your local brew is) works a treat on these guys. It is literally soap. I like to spray in in the am when it is cooler & humid then come back in the pm & they are all dried out & mummified. The soap works by dissolving the was in the exterior skeleton of the bug & they dehydrate. Depending on the bug you might get lucky & zap the leafeater too! You can just run your fingers over them & squish them. Works well. Or, watch & wait & see which bug or beast comes along to finally eat them. Gardening is not for the squeamish is it? Just my observations - open to correction, expansion & dispute. gb.