Dumb question about beetles...

I have these little beetles that get into the blooms, once opened, deep amidst the petals and...well...make the blooms ugly. They don't quite chew on the petals (as best I can tell-nothing obvious), but they nestle in there, making the blooms a little malformed and darken the area where they're snuggled-whether with their poop,or...? I'm 99% sure they aren't in there as the bloom is forming, because I have been checking as it opens, to see if I can find them ahead of time and knock them off. They don't move much-seem to say in the same spot.
They don't match the description of Japanese beetles-no leaf damage and they don't look the same. I've looked on bug files here and googled them and I can't find a match. Of course, it would be nice if I had a photo, wouldn't it? I wasn't smart enough to get one, so will get one and post here ASAP. Briefly, it is maybe 1/4" big, very dark bownish-black, not irridescent at all. No other distinguishing marks. Any help is appreciated.

Could you cut off a flower head that has the bugs in it and put it in a sealed plastic bag and then bring it to a reliable nursery for identification?

Well, now that's a good idea. After I posted, I went through the bug files some more. There are so many files listed under beetle, so I probably got 2/3 way through them and still didn't find it. I'm gonna go out and look for one now...

So, no beetle, but the tell tale signs one has maybe been there.
Not chewed up so much as made the bloom icky.

Your local county extension agent might know the culprit so give them a try if your local nursery can't identify the problem.

I will very much do this, as soon as I get a day off (not sure when that will be).
Here is a picture of the bug. I lied-it's actually 1/2".

Ugh!! Out here I am plagued sometimes with Cucumber Beetles... but that's not one of them. Good luck~!

Cucmber beetles are cute but a menace. Why can't they just leave our dahlias alone?
Thanks to melody over at the Bug ID forum, she found it was Euphoria sepulcralis or Dark Flower Scarab. They eat nectar/pollen. So THAT'S what that pest was doing in there.

So glad you found the name of the offender!