I think your white insects are the empty shells from the aphids after they molt. They outgrow their exoskeletons and shed them to grow. Don't worry about them. Just do what you intend to do (if anything) about the aphids. No aphids, no "wrappers". Kim

The white ones look like newly hatched preying mantids to me. If they are, they might just eat up the aphids.

I think the white ones are aphid shells, and the 2nd one is an aphid. They have wings to fly in, then they drop them and start sucking. Grrrrr!

Infant mantids look exactly like adults, only smaller. A lot smaller.

Here is a link that might be useful: {{gwi:261164}}

That makes sense. That's why they (the white exoskeletons) are always where the aphids are. I thought they were whiteflies. The exoskeleton idea makes a lot more sense.

Anne

Mantids are awesome! I was thrilled to find a baby mantid in the garden yesterday. He looked just like a little piece of straw.....
my son and I were cooing over him like he was a prince. We planted 3 egg sacks last year and found one good sized fella at the end of the season. I never saw the new egg sack-- but hopefully he and his siblings will eat all the bad bugs up better this year.

As for those aphids- look at the undersides of your leaves and see if they are busy under there. Sometimes they even roll the leaf around a cluster of them. Ladybugs can take care of them for you.

duplicate- deleted

This post was edited by lola-lemon on Wed, Apr 3, 13 at 1:13

They are definitely not mantids unfortunately :( and I'm convinced they are probably just the shells.

I'm still unsure about that second pest though...the rest of the aphids are a bright green, and these guys are reddish? Are they a different type of aphid or just younger?

To treat, is it best just to spray them off or should I use insecticidal soap? Would the soap help prevent against future issues other than aphids?

Soap doesn't affect the future insects. it kills the insects that are coated with soap spray. Just apply it to the heavily infested growth tips.

I can't make out the image of the winged insect, but if it is nearly immobile and looks like a winged aphid, that's what it is.

Many beneficial predators will be present when aphids are thick, including syrphid flies and larvae, lacewing adults and larvae, ladybugs and larvae, and tiny wasps. They will almost always gain control of the aphids within a few weeks. Wiping off the thickest concentrations of aphids is a suitable control measure. Spraying water is fine, although many of the aphids will climb back up the rose. Aphids don't do significant harm unless they encrust the stems continuously for over a week.