Could we get more of a discription and a possible pic. Do they look exactly like ants or are they a different shape? How many legs and do they have wings?

they do look exactly like ants. finally realized they were ants and turned the leaf over and turns out there are aphids on the plant. never had these problems until i tried the shade cloth thing first time this summer. i have had a whole slew of problems i have never had before.
dummy me for not looking.
i have had aphids, powdery mildew, flea beetles. i dont know how people handle all these problems who live in the north with all the cool weather. when the heat hits here it hits and the problems seem to fade. thank you for taking the time to answer my question.

never had these problems until i tried the shade cloth thing first time this summer

Shade cloth over your plants shouldn't increase the aphid population. They do just fine when it's hot, humid and sunny.

I've had them here throughout weeks of 90+ degree weather.

I don't mind ants but aphids are a pain.

Just for fun, here's a couple of shots of an ant on a Chinese 5 Color flower... no aphids in sight.