Ezzirah, If they are the size of the point of a needle or the point of a straight pin (or, say, the size of a 'period' here on this page), then I'd say Red Spider Mites, which are normally seen more often in the summer....but maybe this year's heat has brought them out early? If they are the size of the head of a pin, then I'd say red aphids. I've linked a photo of red aphids. Do they look like that? In either case, usually taking your water hose and hitting them with a strong stream of water will knock them off the plants and encourage them to go elsewhere. If it is aphids, they often make a big appearance in early spring and then, if you are patient, lady bugs come along a week or two later and gobble them up. (Watch for the lady bug larvae---they are very helpful and gobble up tons of pest insects, but they don't look like ladybugs. They are gray and orange and look like tiny alligators.) If you don't have naturally-occurring lady bugs, you can buy a bag or small carton of them at some nurseries or garden centers. They are the best pest control solution in the world. Since your pests are laying eggs, you need to get rid of those eggs or you'll have more pests. You can scrape them off the plant with a fingernail and drop them into a cup of soapy water and them dump the whole thing down the sink. You could spray the plants with Neem Oil, but I normally just wait for the lady bugs to show up. They always show up about a day after I've finally decided they aren't going to show up after all. If they don't look like aphids, they probably are red spider mites and we can talk about them if you decide that's what you have. Aphids don't really bother me. If you have plants at all, there's a chance aphids will show up in early spring. Normally, as long as your plants are not overfed nitrogen, they are a minor problem and lady bugs will take care of them. They can carry and transmit plant diseases though. The worst thing you can do is run out and buy a chemical pesticide to treat them because that will also kill off the beneficial insects who normally keep pest insects under control. One thing to know about beneficial insects is that they do not show up until the pest insect reaches a high enough level to feed them. So, when you have enough aphids, for example, the Mama Ladybug believes there's enough food to sustain her young, she'll show up, lay eggs, and in a few days you'll have a whole platoon of aphid-eating lady bug larvae.) The people I know who always have the worst and most persistent pest problems are those who quickly grab a chemical and spray, so be patient and let Mother Nature send you some lady bugs to control the little pest bugs. Please note that the aphids in the linked photo are not life-sized. In real life, they are smaller...about the size of the head of a pin. Dawn Here is a link that might be useful:...

I don't use any oils or pesticides for insect control as I grow organically. google Arbico. they specialize in beneficial insects. I ordered three praying manti egg cases. one for my yard and for my neighbors on both sides. one egg case hatches abou two hundred manti. They devour every insect you hate. and once they live out their life cycle they lay their own egg cases. so now I have an ongoing population of manti. I live an hour north of death Valley so its a desrt hot blazing summers freezing winters if my manti can stay alive year after year your area will support them as well. also consider Ladybugs these are literalyy the toughest bug in the pack they eat every single pest bug you can imagine problem is when they eat everything they move on to find more food. I even take my baby manti indoors to work over my bonsai and houseplants I leave a couple of windows open all the time for my cats to get in and out. so manti have an escape, or entrance if they choose. I grow vegetables, tobacco, fruit, housplants and bonsai. this was a permanent and inexpensive solution to my bug problem. Good Luck!!!!

Very interesting, kujen. Your image and your description is 'bugging' me! Please follow kimmsr's advice and have this identified in person at your local extension office. Maybe, with a phone call, you'll simply be able to email your good image for an ID. I have my doubts that this is the work of a beneficial, since there seems to be some damage in the egg laying process. I was wondering if it might be the work of some sort of katydid, but I'd like to see more images. Could be beneficial, mind you. I really don't know.

They look like aphids. Blast them off with a strong spray of water. Or use insecticidal soap spray. And yeah, you can eat those peppers still. Just wash off the aphids. Rodney