Name that Bug!

I harvested most of my first year hops last week and I have recently started seeing some bugs. I'm glad they waited until I harvested most of the hops because I am over run now. I'm not too worried about getting rid of them I just want to know what they are and how to prevent for next year.

First, I know I have aphids...the tiny green things that sit on the leaves. They seem to have left behind little white pods (for a lack of a better term) which I dont know if those are dead aphids or something else. The bug below (thanks MS Paint!) is all over my hops too. They dont seem to be doing anything as I think the aphids are doing all the damage...



Thoughts?

Love your picture. Perhaps this....
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikiped...ae_2.jpg/800px-Harmonia_axyridis_larvae_2.jpg

Hmmm, possibly lady bug larvae? If so, it is a great thing as they will devour the aphids. How big are they, is it a beetle"? Hopefully your drawing is not to scale! Har.

Yeah the picture (lol) looks like ladybugs. If it is a ladybug, that's a good thing.

I used Orthene twice early in the season and have had no problems since.

I had a few little inch worm type things that I picked off, and some woolly aphids over the past couple months, but the ladybugs and praying mantises have done a great job of keeping the hops mostly insect-free. I've been lucky.

Milkweed bug.

Species Lygaeus kalmii - Small Milkweed Bug - BugGuide.Net

The suspense is excruciating.

Nurmey said:

Love your picture. Perhaps this....
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikiped...ae_2.jpg/800px-Harmonia_axyridis_larvae_2.jpg

Click to expand...

FTW!!!

From wiki: "Harmonia axyridis is a large coccinellid beetle originally native to eastern Asia, but which has been introduced to North America and Europe to control aphids and scale insects."

I figured they were good as they didnt seem to be putting holes in my plants or anything. I guess all the little white "pods" from the aphids are maybe the dead ones these guys have been munching on. Either way, there still isnt enough of them as the top of my Willamette is almost dead now.

They are all over the place though and range from about 1/8" to 1/2" in length.