Black bugs on my chamomile plant

[Veggieman98]

The chamomile was doing so well until I started noticing these black moving specks. They line up with 4 of my main branches from my chamomile stems. I grabbed a hose attachment and tried spraying them off but only so many came off. As well as ants crawling around the plant too. I have neem oil that i will be using as I suspect these may be aphids. Can anyone let me know if these are aphids or something else and what can i do to get rid of them? My chamomile just started showing signs of flowering and I don’t want these things ruining it. Thanks

 

[Marck]

The photo is not in sharp focus, but yes, the insects do look like aphids (Aphidoidea, Hemiptera), possibly the Black bean Aphid (Aphis fabae). In addition to hosing them off, you can apply horticultural soap or horticultural oil .