I think they are the nymph stage leaf-footed bugs and they are bad news for your tomatoes. If you have experience with stink bugs on your tomato plants, these are in the same category in terms of how damaging they can be and how to deal with them.

Compare yours to the linked photo from the TAMU Entomology website and see if you think they are leaf-footed bugs.

I garden organically so I usually hand-pick them and drop them into a bucket of soapy water to drown the moment I see them---before they have time to grow and multiply. You also can vaccum them up with a small dustbuster type vacuum cleaner. Try to get as many as you can on your first attempt because they are very smart and will quickly realize you are a "predator" and will start hiding when they see you coming.

Dawn

Here is a link that might be useful:

I had these bugs for years and until last year couldn't figure out what they were but they are the leaf leg bugs. I gave up and used sevin dust and it took care of them and so far I don't have them this year. They are a pest!@!!!

Insecticidal soap may take care of these critters. You can buy it, or make it (about 1 tblsp. shaved soap, not detergent--I use Ivory bar soap--in 1 qt. water with about a tsp. of vegetable oil, shake well, let sit overnight) and spray the heck out of the bugs! It is not a preventive, just an insecticide. Sevin is good, too.

I have these so bad and won't use any poisons...so I have invested in these bags I get 3 for 1.00 at the dollar store. I reuse them each year so the initial investment is not worth it unless you 1. grow every year and 2. are not growing too many plants. I grow between 25-40 plants depending on space/energy I have...Here is a picture of how I bag and grow. I bag when they are good size with no signs of BER. Date on pic is wrong..I just took it. These bags are used for weddings as they are in the wedding favors section.

another pic...

yummykaz, is that a mesh? Ingenious!

Pam

Pam....they are Organza bags. I have not looked for them online/priced them online. I just pick up at local 1.00 store. 3 for 1.00
But they look like this:

http://www.candlewacks.com/organza.html I just reuse them. For big clusters, like cherry or grape, I have some of those organza bags like for wine bottles.

Hey, I've heard about doing this but always forget about it! I wanna do it now. You could even make them. I wonder what kind of glue would work best, I ain't no seamstress.

I thought they were on the maters cuz they started looking funny. Found the little monsters. They are pretty quick. I think I'll pick all the low tomatoes & then use insecticidal soap. The turtle eats the low tomatoes & I don't want to poison him. He showed up in the yard after Ike. No idea how he got in but he seems happy, buries in the compost pile, eats tomatoes & what ever I bring out for him. Just looks at you and keeps on going. He can't seem to get out of the fence, floated in maybe?
Tally HO!

well I must have jinxed myself by reading this thread and posting on it. I went out this morning and guess what's on my tomatoes? Ya....THEY'RE BAAAAACKKK!!!

Well the past few days I have not seen too many bugs around. I mixed up some Lemon Joy in water and sprayed the plants. So far so good - no bugs. I have to wash my tomatoes well before eating of course but otherwise bugs are gone.
Another guy emailed me and told me this was his way of getting rid of the bugs. He said to make sure the soap was phosphate free.
I used 1 tsp joy concentrated liquid to 1 gallon of water.

This bag idea reminds me of a trip I made to Korea many years ago. We rode a bus down from Seoul to Pohang and passed several orchards on the way. Out in the orchards people were on ladders tying little cloth bags on all of the apples and pears. There were thousands of them and every one of them had it's own little cloth bag. Each bag had a drawstring that was tied carefully around the stem above the fruit. You could see the effects of this type of treatment when you went to the open air markets in the cities, as far as they eye could travel were baskets and bowls of perfectly unblemished fruit. Each piece of fruit was fully ripe and delicious and the bags had the added benefit that the skin of the fruit was thin and very tender from being protected from the elements. The bags should have the same benefit here in protecting tomatoes from bugs as well as helping to hold in some of the moisture that would otherwise be lost in the weather. Cheryl

The three years I lived in Benbrook I had a near perfect crop of strawberries,eggplant,tomatoes hibiscus and roses from interplanting all of my produce and vulnerable flowers with native wildflowers/shrubs and trees. I read several places that the local predatory bugs will live,breed and guard native wildflower stands. I left any pests I found (including those juvie leaf footed stinkers...neat pics by the way...) and after a bit or two on the first crop it was a total wipeout of pests. I don't know if the smell of the damage fruit,like ONE bite, alerted the predatory bugs to come around or what? I also understand that the juvenile stage of predatory bug is the time they do the most damage to thier prey. So the wildflower nursery must have done the trick!
I was just amazed. The seed is cheap,the flowers pretty and it worked just great. PJ

A followup..so here are tomatoes I just picked...notice no stink bugs white spots at all (white is flash). I missed bagging one and saw it same day...covered with marks...(not in this pic)