What are these and how do I get rid of them?

[dlhyphenp]

I started my first vegetable garden this year and everything has been going great until now. I found these strange looking bugs all over one of my tomato plants and don't know what to do. I have been growing organically so far and don't want to use any chemicals. Please help!

My unwanted guests

[applestar]

Aphids. Look closer and see if there are any Garden Patrol handling the situation. Ladybugs/ladybeetles and their larvae! green lacewings and their larvae. Do you see any aphid mummies -- dried tan shells/husks of bloated aphids? Do you see any teeny tiny brown and yellow bee-like flying insects called hover flies?

If you need to deal with them on your own, start by just spraying them off with strong streams of water.

If you see ants marching up and down the plants, then the ants are shepherding the aphids and need to be controlled.

[rainbowgardener]

Applestar, did you look in close up (this is a very nice photo and can be enlarged twice with out going all blurry!)? The smaller pinkish ones on the stem are definitely aphids. But there's a larger brown one on the leaf that I think is a something else and may be surrounded by nymphs of it. But I'm not sure what the something else is. Do you know?

[applestar]

Ah I see what you are talking about. Those are out of focus and I can't quite tell what they are. I didn't look at them close up and assumed they were aphid and babies, but looking closer, maybe not.

Another better focused picture would help with the ID.

[dlhyphenp]

I will try to take a better photo when I get home. I took the first one with my phone. I'll spray them off with water and see if they come back.