Very good pics! But I don't know what they are!

Here's a

If yours aren't red aphids, maybe someone here will be able to help you identify them.

I think that they are stinkbug nymphs, perhaps the leaf footed ones, but there is not indications of anything on their hind feet at this time.
Bill P.

They look like stinkbug or leaf-footed bug nymphs to me. If so, squish away!

Here is a link that might be useful: Leaf-footed bug info

It also looks a lot like an immature assassin bug (a picture is about 1/3 down the page). Assassin bugs come in all kinds of colors and shapes.

Here are several pictures of the milkweed assassin bug adults. Those black dots on your insects may expand when they're adults.

Here's one more picture of an assassin bug nymph. If your bugs are assassin bugs, they're beneficials. But all those holes in the leaves and those swarming bugs suggest they're the ones doing the damage. And stink bugs will do that.

I'm convinced it's an assassin bug nymph. There's a discussion under the picture by people trying to identify it, and the first person thought it was a leaf-footed stink bug nymph, but apparently it isn't!

Anyway, see what you think.

Thanks for all the help. Are assassin bugs beneficial? most of the pictures show them eating other insects. or do they eat plants too?

PB

Yes, assassin bugs are beneficial to gardeners and shouldn't be destroyed. They eat aphids, leafhoppers, small caterpillars, and beetle eggs and larvae.

Why don't you send your pictures to whatsthatbug.com and get a sure identification? You can click on Ask WTB on the top left of the home page to send them pictures.

Once I thought these were assassin bugs nymphs and that the adults were also assassin bugs, but I was wrong. They were leaf footed stink bugs and enough of them will cause your mid summer and fall tomatoes to have unsavory blemishes that will affect the flavor (really yucky) because they will pierce the fruit with their mouth parts, suck out some juice and leave some sort of enzyme in there that breaks down the flesh. Ask yourself, why would a family of Assassin bugs target your tomatoes to live on when they are nomadic predators? Since there are some people that think these are not stink bugs, and you might not be convinced that they are, take some to an expert, like your county extension agent for ID before its too late and you are wondering why some of your tomatoes taste funny.