How bad are the bugs that roll up in a ball?

You know the ones when you touch them they curl up. They are a brownish color. They seem to have made a nice home in my pot.

It is a female but with just preflowers, no buds yet. Is this the fault of those bugs or is she just a late bloomer. Her sister is budding great btw.

as a kid we called those potato bugs, I to had them but my plant is outdoors, and yes they do eat your plant. I just use garlic spray I make up, spray the plant and ground and they left. They only get bad here when it rains, and we have had 11 days over 100 degrees and one rain shower the other day and my plant was covered with them,

All bugs are bad for your plant. Kill the bastards!