Rose and hibiscus pest

Question: Hi, my roses and hibiscus have the same black mite ravaging the plants.  (I did prune with same pruner).  The roses are maybe doing a little better after neem oil application.  Can you identify and should I keep using neem?  First photo is the earliest growth of the rose and second is newer growth that looks a little better.

responder: Answered by theHome and Garden Information Center (HGIC), University of Maryland Extension. For timely gardening information and tips, subscribe to our Maryland Grows blog and quarterly newsletter. Follow us on Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube. Replied May 05, 2023, 11:51 AM EDT
response: You didn't include a photo of your Hibiscus, but we do not think you are having a problem with mites on your roses.   Your first photo shows fecal pellets left behind by a caterpillar of some sort. If you look closely you can usually find them and just pick them off. (At this time of year soft-bodied insects like these are an important food source for songbird nestlings).  Your second photo looks like something was sampling the rose leaves. The two biggest suspects are slugs and/or rose-slug sawfly larvae. Slugs feed primarily at night or on misty, wet, rainy days. You could go out at night with a flashlight and take a look. Here is our page on Slugs:  https://extension.umd.edu/resource/slugs-and-snails-flowers  Rose Slugs are different and are the wormy-looking larval stage of a sawfly. You can learn more about them on our Roses page here:  https://extension.umd.edu/resource/rose-identify-and-manage-problems    Spinosad is a bio-pesticide and the active ingredient to look for to help.  It's important to know not to expect perfect plants in our landscapes, which we share with many other living organisms, and to tolerate a certain amount of damage to plants. (The use of native plants is encouraged as they tend to not need chemical inputs, water, fertilizer additions etc.)  Be careful with using any pesticides until you know what you are actually dealing with Neem. Applied incorrectly, it can burn foliage, but according to the Audobon Society, "because neem oil prevents insects from developing further, it can prevent bee larvae from developing if adult bees feed them neem oil-coated pollen they've brought back to the hive. For that reason, you should avoid using neem oil on flowers or remove open flowers from plants you're treating with neem oil."  Which kind of Hibiscus are you growing and what problem are you seeing on them?   Christine

responder: The Question Asker Replied May 05, 2023, 12:39 PM EDT
response: Hi.  Thanks, Here is a photo of the hibiscus.  It is one of those Rose of Sharon with purple flowers.  I didn’t plant this one,  it is from a runner? from another one I planted in a different spot.  Lots of activity on it as you can see! Sent from my iPhone On May 5, 2023, at 11:51 AM, Ask Extension <<personal data hidden>> wrote:﻿

responder: Answered by the Home and Garden Information Center (HGIC), University of Maryland Extension. For timely gardening information and tips, subscribe to our Maryland Grows blog and quarterly newsletter. Follow us on Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube. Replied May 08, 2023, 9:54 AM EDT
response: Hi,  It looks like these are probably aphids on the Rose of Sharon (which can be invasive - it spreads of seeds from the spent flowers - if you can remove the flowers/seed heads after you are finished this the blooms and before the seeds fall - you can help to keep it from spreading). You can see the aphid 'mummies' too. The photo is a little blurry and we can't zoom in on it, just the way the file was loaded, but it looks like that is what is going on. The link sent on aphids, explains how natural predators, will use the aphids as a food source and parasitize them, making these 'mummies'. That is good news and means that the population will most likely be reduced with out the need for pesticide use.  On the previous photo of the rose bud, it looks like there is a type of Assassin Bug hiding behind the bud, which is another beneficial predator insect. Assassin bugs and wheel bugs (a type of assassin bug) feed on aphids, so they are doing their job as well.  You could let nature run its course with the aphids, as you will probably notice that any heavily damaged foliage will eventually fall off and they will push out new growth.  Let us know if you have further questions about them. -Emily