Small Black "Beetle", Unknown! Need Help Identifying

[darkchile]

I'm going through this morning taking some photos of my peppers to finally update my Grow log http://thehotpepper.com/topic/73278-my-zone-6a-ct-1st-time-growing-from-seed and came across some bugs I can't identify. Across all my gardens I've found aphids, mealy bugs, spiders, preying mantis, lady bugs, baby lady bugs (the larvae thing) and some 3 lined potato beetles this year. I came across these little black beetle looking bugs on the top of several of my reapers this morning. They didn't appear to be going under the leaves, nor trying to suck sap or hide. They were literally walking around on the top of the tomato cages and tops of leaves as if looking for something. Some of them were almost in a line doing the same thing going across the top. In the same area on same plant I found a few lady bug larvae doing their thing hunting. 
 
They almost look like a tick to me, but don't try to latch onto my finger and when i put stick or finger nearby they don't seem interested/run away.Apologize for some blur spots, but you'll see some up close and the "black dots" on tomato cage top are them kind of running around doing their thing.
 
 Is this a harmful pest or something I should be thankful to have? 
 

 

[Bhuter]

I'm going through this morning taking some photos of my peppers to finally update my Grow log http://thehotpepper.com/topic/73278-my-zone-6a-ct-1st-time-growing-from-seed and came across some bugs I can't identify. Across all my gardens I've found aphids, mealy bugs, spiders, preying mantis, lady bugs, baby lady bugs (the larvae thing) and some 3 lined potato beetles this year. I came across these little black beetle looking bugs on the top of several of my reapers this morning. They didn't appear to be going under the leaves, nor trying to suck sap or hide. They were literally walking around on the top of the tomato cages and tops of leaves as if looking for something. Some of them were almost in a line doing the same thing going across the top. In the same area on same plant I found a few lady bug larvae doing their thing hunting. 
 
They almost look like a tick to me, but don't try to latch onto my finger and when i put stick or finger nearby they don't seem interested/run away.Apologize for some blur spots, but you'll see some up close and the "black dots" on tomato cage top are them kind of running around doing their thing.
 
 Is this a harmful pest or something I should be thankful to have?

IMO:
Bad news. Those look like Brown Marmorated Stink Bug Nymphs. They are probably looking for ripe pods. I've noticed they like to suck the color right out of your pods. Little soft spots lacking pigment. And it'll rot the inside sometimes. Most of the time, for me, they are just aesthetically discouraging.

Cleanse them with
Seriously, though.......I don't know how to rid of them aside from physically kicking their a$$e$.
I'm sure they do other damage, too.........

 

[darkchile]

Well dang, just what I needed is stink bugs. Pyrethrin help versus using or neem? I got both readily available.
 
Notice the red/color doesn't spread across entire back, just their sides though versus photos I can bring up of them.

 

[Bhuter]

Yeah, I know, right!
They look a lot like ladybug larvae without the "tadpole-tail".

They still might be ladybugs. Check this out.

If they ARE ladybugs, you have help in NUMBERS!!!! Loads of them.

 

[Bhuter]

........and maybe they are looking for aphids as ladybugs, not pods as Stink Bugs.

 

[darkchile]

That's what i'm wondering if its lady bugs. I did see a little larvae I'm almost positive is ladybug on the same circlet of tomato cage crawling around fast. I wasn't able to get a photo but definitely looks like a discolored little alligator, and went right by these beetle things and paid them no attention.
 
I did have aphids show up a few weeks ago, and have seen daddy long legs & preying mantis few times on my plants (around the middle area like that). 
 
Let me go see if I can get a few better photos of any of this.

 

[darkchile]

Here's a few higher quality photos to show the little bugs. They are literally just running around on the top of the cage & top few leaves. They aren't trying to eat the leaves or anything that I can tell.

 

[Bhuter]

I'm trying to look at the difference between the ladybug and stink bug life stages. Try this site:

https://www.stopbmsb.org/stink-bug-basics/life-stages/

These are stink bugs in Alberta:
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/proxy/UCfGTCuwUjxlDfriAKkenIGcr-9-GBP-thHnnsJuA9Kst5TReUYSv25biT6ozohdyoMjZ6etCSeWrW1boCj3AfvySrW-KChhXbS_a-9i2tMC78b8vGQKv87kXdM

:shrug: :shrug: :shrug:
I don't know.
Pardon me while I scream out loud..........
Whew!

 

[darkchile]

It kind of looks like a combination of both.

 

[luvmesump3pp3rz]

if they don`t seem to be doing any damage i would let them be for now. you don`t want to loose the good bugs if you can help it. 
 
we just had a japanese beetle infestation and they seemed to go after the sunflowers we have growing. they were on the tomatoes also but not as bad. we kept picking them off and throwing them in a cup of soapy water to kill them. we cleared them out in two days. i hope yours turn out harmless.

 

[Bhuter]

It kind of looks like a combination of both.

Oh, good..........

So I'm not the only one pulling their hair out. lol.

But I'd do as Kevin (p3pp3rz) suggested.........wait and see.

 

[darkchile]

That's what I'm doing. I checked on the plants again and those bugs just kind of walking around, they don't seem to be biting the leaves or sucking out anything.

 

[PaulG]

It is definitely a true bug, order Hemiptera.
 
As such, they have a tube type mouth for
piercing and sucking plant juices. Eventually
they will want to suck on your plants. 
 
Get rid of them. If not too many, hose 'em
off, or hit your plants with some NEEM in
the evening.
 
Fortunately, their bright orange color makes
them easy to spot soon after they hatch and
are hanging out in a little group. Your pics look
like nymphs in stage 2 of development.

 

[Bhuter]

It is definitely a true bug, order Hemiptera.
 
As such, they have a tube type mouth for
piercing and sucking plant juices. Eventually
they will want to suck on your plants. 
 
Get rid of them. If not too many, hose 'em
off, or hit your plants with some NEEM in
the evening.
 
Fortunately, their bright orange color makes
them easy to spot soon after they hatch and
are hanging out in a little group. Your pics look
like nymphs in stage 2 of development.

That's what threw me, Paul............the orange color. The nymphs around here MIGHT have some orange/copper spots on their backs, but the kind we get here are Black and White-Silver-Grey.

 

[darkchile]

I'm going to mix up the neem tonight then and spray just before it gets dark. Should I heavily coat or just lightly?
 
If they're on top im going to grab a bunch of them after I make supper off if I can knock them into a cup of soap water

 

[darkchile]

Can't find them, BUT what I did find was a few preying mantis, some daddy long legs and what I am pretty sure is an assassin bug. On top of I don't know what kind of hunting fly, but I see what appears to be some kind of fly going around hunting. I'm pretty sure I got a lot of hunters in my pepper garden right now. 

 

[Bhuter]

Can't find them, BUT what I did find was a few preying mantis, some daddy long legs and what I am pretty sure is an assassin bug. On top of I don't know what kind of hunting fly, but I see what appears to be some kind of fly going around hunting. I'm pretty sure I got a lot of hunters in my pepper garden right now.

A lot of good guys, there!
Maybe you're seeing parasitic wasps hunting for something. Those are SUPER handy if you have a HornWorm problem.

 

[darkchile]

A lot of good guys, there!
Maybe you're seeing parasitic wasps hunting for something. Those are SUPER handy if you have a HornWorm problem.
 

 
The thought did come to mind, they looked like a cross between a small yellow jacket wasp & a fly with the greenish looking color tone to it.
 
I almost need to be an entomologist with all the bug learning i'm getting in this year.

 

[The_NorthEast_ChileMan]

I almost need to be an entomologist with all the bug learning i'm getting in this year.

 
See if any of these sites help:

PestWorld-Bug & Insect Identification List
InsectID - BugFinder - Insect Search and Identification Tool
Insect ID
RAID - Bug ID
UC Davis Entomology - bUD id

 

[bongcloud]

Definitely not a ladybug, it's most likely a stink bug nymph. Note that some stink bug species are predatory insects, most notably within the Podisus genus. Rough stink bugs, for example, will eat both plants (mostly leaves) and other insects. Most predatory stink bugs are general predators that usually prey on grubs and the larvae of various beetles and moths, where some will feed on plant sap as well.