Pictures would help...but thrips are awfully fond of flower heads.

There is a shot of one of the small bugs on upper petal.

This post was edited by TNGarden123 on Wed, Sep 10, 14 at 9:26

That looks like some sort of beetle (best I can tell), like a flea beetle or something. If so, a contact insecticide can work.

Thrips are almost invisible and you usually only notice because flowers and leaves are twisted and distorted (and unhealthy).

As far as treatment, consider how short the remainder of the growing season is...perhaps it'd be best to just throw in the towel, unless you plan on bringing the plants into a sunny window for the winter...versus throwing poison into the environment...quite likely killing bees and butterflies also.

Thank you. I assume the flea beetle if that is what we are experiencing appear in "swarms" ? There is a large school of them on that one flower.

I'm not sure what you're looking at, but I don't see anything in those pictures that remotely resembles flea beetles. Nor is that the sort of damage I expect from flea beetles.

Flea beatles are tiny things that hop around like fleas (hence the name) and they leave tiny holes peppershot all over the foliage of plants, like lacework. They do not swarm per se, though you will usually not see just one or two flea beetles. They are also about the size of a small flea. If you have flea beetles, I wouldn't expect them to be visible in a picture of that resolution. They're tiny and fast.

Regardless, get some neem and spray whatever it is away. You're not going to hurt butterflies or bees with it. Neem is actually used in hive management by beekeepers to control mite infestations in the hive.

Just a foliar spray will do the job - you don't need to spray the bug itself. Neem isn't really a contact poison. If the bugs are eating the leaves or flowers or any other part of the plant, that'll most likely take care of them.