James A. Bowery said:

That's what I thought it might be but these didn't have the
characteristic green color. Upon closer examination they appear to
have some sort of greyish coat that can be rubbed off to reveal the
characteristic green of aphids that I'm used to. It may be the cooler
weather is inducing them to produce some sort of insulation. I don't
know that much about aphids.

Aphids come in a range of colors, including bright scarlet and
black--some species even appear wooly white.

(I know that aphids are called 'green flies' in the UK, and I'm now
wrapping my mind around 'red green flies.')

http://www.cirrusimage.com/homoptera/red_aphids.jpg
http://ccvipmp.ucdavis.edu/insects/blackbeanaphid.html
http://www.wingwatchers.com/images1/waphid1.jpg
--
Pat in Plymouth MI ('someplace.net' is comcast)

Any technology distinguishable from magic is insufficiently advanced.
(attributed to Don Marti)