Because of where you found them, unless you try to get a picture of them and post, it might be difficult to identify them. They could be aphids or something else undesirable, in particular, a known apartment dweller that does tend to congregate and breed in wet areas (mites tend to stay where it is dry). You could try a soap solution and if that doesn't work, you may have to try a miticide like that made by Bonide.

So you can tell by looking at the plant whether you have thrips or not? You didn't see any evidence of them in my photos, yorkrose? Yes, I have had winter moths for the past four years. It is really a pain, but I keep observing to see how it changes from year to year. This year they were late, but they did show up. They weren't as bad as previous years. One year my two Maples had very visible holes all over the tree. This year I can't see a lot at all. It's even more annoying when they drop down onto plants in the yard. But on the other hand, there are lots of birds that have started camping out for the abundance of food. I see starlings especially like them and are in the trees hunting and pecking. I've seen sparrows eating them and this year I've been amazed to see Orioles hopping around in the trees eating them. So I've held off on using the BT. Right now I think with the few roses I have, hand picking and close observation may keep things manageable. I hope! [g] Kate, are there bugs that eat the sawfly larvae? York Rose, thanks for that link. I see they are supposed to feed until mid June. I've already seen a noticeable dropoff in activity.

Good to hear. We have aphids on the nearby broccoli I let go to flower for the bees. I hope they feast well! Thanks ken

I have found out what the variety is, the Brown Marmorated Stink Bug. I don't use insecticides but want to keep these things under control. I haven't even seen the praying mantises eating them and I don't know if there's anything else in the yard big enough to eat them. It's unpleasant to sit by the pool with the stink bugs landing on you and crawling all over the lounge chairs. Squashing them causes a nasty odor to be released. I also want to keep them from coming into the house, especially when it cools down. They are getting in whenever a door or window is opened. When I say there's a lot of bugs in the yard I mean hundreds and that's just what I see. Who knows how many more are hidden? Of course I have every host plant listed for them growing on my property : (