These tiny things have been clinging to my cosmos for a few days now. Sorry for the lack of sharpness of the photo - they're tiny! But some are bigger than others, so maybe they didn't all hatch at the same time?
What are they? Should I kill them immediately, throw them in the woods, or let them mature in my garden?
It wasn't until I uploaded the photos that I noticed that some of them have transparent wings.
If I had to guess, I'd say that they turn into those giant mosquito-looking crane fly things, but I'm probably wrong about that. The only other stuff in the area that I've seen that's red like that are milkweed beetles, but I doubt that's what they are either.
They are red aphids, wouldn't like to say which though!
http://images.google.co.uk/images?hl=en&ie=UTF-8&q=red%20aphids&um=1&sa=N&tab=wi
Oh! I feel silly! I can't believe I didn't even think about aphids. Thanks for setting me straight.
Lol, not to worry, it must have been fun having the imagination!
