Help!! Something is eating my plant

Hi, I have searched the internet but can't find anything that identifies what is eating my plant (Lobelia Cardinalis).

It is literally stripping the stems. The only thing that I can find actually on the plant are some tiny little bugs at the top of the plant where the flower heads developed. They are about 1cm long and there is also a kind of silk, webby type stuff sticking the flower heads together.

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This is the picture of one of the bugs that I managed to get hold of!!

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Does anyone have any ideas what it could be?? I know a lot of stuff might get killed off through the winter (as my next door neighbour informs me, but I would really like to know what it is.

 

Hi Starbar

Those look like tiny caterpillars but it seems very late for butterflies, moths or flies to do such damage. I'd give them a squirt of Provado Ultimate Bug Killer which is the most versatile insecticide that I know. Otherwise you won't have anything left!

 

Not sure if the bugs are connected with the damage - the top picture looks like snail damage to me.
Once lost a lobelia to snails - they wouldn't leave it alone

 

It could be snails. Although I haven't seen any on it, but have seen them everywhere else. (Especially when I started clearing the garden in Spring, there were hundreds!! They met their maker in a bucket of salt water). Was even going to the lengths of going out at night to catch them. Think they are busy munching on the chives that I had grown from seed at the beginning of the year at the moment. There isn't much left of them now

The other thing I'm finding when I'm on one of my numerous bug hunts are leaves folded in half with a black pupae sealed up inside them. Not sure what they are, other than there must be some caterpillar preceding them from the holes they leave in the leaves around them. I found one in my lavendar plant that was easier to take a pic of, but they are usually wrapped in a rolled up leaf.

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Any idea what they are? Not sure if they are a good or bad thing. But till I find out, I've been disposing of these too. Whatever is in the black thing seems to move around when you touch it, (which gives me the creeps) the silk stuff round it isn't sticky and is extremely tough to break open.

You can tell I'm just a beginner!! Can just about handle picking up worms and moving them out of the way from where I'm digging!! Slug catching is done with a really long stick too! Snails I can manage cos of the shell!

 

Dont think I would be too bothered right now.
Once we get a hard frost the top growth will die for the winter anyway.

Now if this was happening in spring it would be a very different kettle of fish.