BUGS in alfalfa field!

[WTA]

I just cut part of my alfalfa field and noticed this when I was going to clean off my swather. The whole cutter bar is just covered with them. It looks like aphids mostly and I don't know what the rest of them are. I was wondering why there are patches out there that looked kinda thin. Could all these bugs be the cause?

Is this harmful in any way to my horses?

How do you all recommend killing them? Or should I even be worried about it?

Thanks.

 

[WTA]

I hope this isn't a blister beetle!

It doesn't look a lot like ones I can find on the web but similar enough. Does anyone know what it is?
Nevermind on this one. I just found out it's one of the good guys. It's a ladybug in the larval stage.

 

[charlz]

Yep, ladybug larva... and it eats aphids That is a whole lot of aphids though. Aphids suck the juice out of the plants so yeah, they can cause poor plant performance. Since you harvested it will probably take care of the bulk of the problem. They release 'honeydew' when they feed which other insects like ants and yellow jackets like to eat. This can also help mold grow etc. so I would inspect those parts of the field.

 

[4720 OWNER]

Wish i knew what was in your field (1st pic) but i just found a ton of them on 1 plant in the garden. Kind of a swarm like gypsy moth or some thing but not the same size. They were only grouped on a milk weed plant. Yes i let a couple milk weed in the garden the butterflies seem to like it and the young pods opened up and cooked tastes a bit like cheese.