I have a really pretty hibiscus that's been doing well since I got it for mother's day. Suddenly, I noticed black spots all over a few of the buds and big ugly black ants all over it! It's scary looking. What the H E double hockey sticks is this and what can I do to fix it? I don't want to kill another plant. *wail*

Meg

eta- I went back out, and with my gloves on, I plucked one section off that was badly covered and attempted to take pics. My crappy little camera won't take good close ups, they are too fuzzy to make out. Anyway, upon closer inspection, I noticed a parasite. Not sure what kind it is or what I can do tho. I didn't get a real good look, cuz I didn't really want to touch it. (Did I say I have a slight bug phobia?) I did see it looked kinda light green, slightly fuzzy, not very long. It didn't look caterpillar like.. so not that fuzzy. It was really hard to see, it was around the green near the base of the buds. My poor hibiscus. It's not all over it yet, but one section is covered pretty well.

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I reject your reality, and substitue my own!
My favorite digital camera photos that I took.
My family, garden, and a bunch of misc. photos!

Ok Meg... this is a guess, the presence of ants tells me you could have an aphid problem, they come in all colors, green for sure, But the ants go for the secretions the aphids leave called HONEY DEW, so Like I said, a guess.