It's a Gentleman's Dresser. You don't often see them intact these days. They usually are long parted out. In our family, we have the chest and the mirror, but the ornate mirror surround and two smaller side cabinets are long gone to who knows where. Candles were often placed on top of the side cabinet to illuminate the user in the mirror. It looks to me that all the hardware is original and, as you can see, the drawers are beautifully made. Some have only one of the smaller side cabinets placed off to the side. Some also have "Eastlake" style spoon carving on the drawer fronts and top of the mirror surround. In the case of our pieces, my Grandmother followed the trend of the 1930's and painted that beautiful oak pink followed later on with white. I had it stripped and refinished back to the original "golden oak" in the early 1990's. If I had to guess, this piece was original offered through the Sears catalog. You may be able to determine if that's true with a little research. Here's a start: https://www.bing.com/search?q=antique+gentleman%27s+dresser&qs=OS&pq=antique+gentlemen&sc=3-17&sp=1&cvid=B775C880805B44E8BABA4B6B16B777A2&FORM=QBRE

" No chance it's Aster x frikartii 'Mönch'?? " Probably not. That would have been in bloom off and on for most of the summer, starting as early as June. It also has much broader, larger leaves than the photo.

I've had prompt and helpful replies from our local extension when I emailed photos and questions. I see an email address on the page I linked...

looks like they're leafhoppers. The suck sap from plants including grass but since there are some 20,000 different species it's difficult to tell the exact species.