Maybe a rose slug? The rose slug is the larval stage of the sawfly. It will turn the leaves to lace but doesn't seem to do anything to the buds.

Do a search on rose slug and see if it fits.

Definitely sounds like rose slug. In most cases, after a couple weeks, the good bugs come along and eat 'em up, so you don't really need to do anything as drastic as use Bayer 2-in-1. Most of us either hand-squeeze them or pick them and toss them into the grass away from the rose. Seriously, the good bugs usually finish the job for the rose gardener, so the Bayer isn't needed. Besides, the Bayer 2-in-1 kills off all bugs, both the good and the bad bugs, and not just the rose slugs. (Don't use the Bayer 3-in-1 either--even worse!).

Kate