Can anyone identify this bug? Woolly aphid? *magnified photos attached*

[justanotherneighinparadise]

There were lots of them running amok amongst some young bell pepper plants I planted out. I put them under the microscope and one was munching on an insect, a greenfly maybe?

Anyway they’re tiny, about a couple of millimetres, white and they look furry. I’ve never seen them before but they must be pretty common as there were lots.

Thank you.

Looks like woolly aphid to me.

If it was munching on an aphid, it wouldn't be a woolly aphid. Aphid mouthparts aren't designated for munching.

It doesn't look fluffy enough compared with the pictures on the internet of woolly aphid

What it does look like is the mealy bug predator - is there any possibility that you could have acquired that from somewhere?
www.dragonfli.co.uk/products/mealybug-predator-larvae-cryptolaemus-montrouzieri

How interesting! I wonder if they came along with some organic vegetable compost that I bought from a garden centre 🤔

I have to agree with MereDint, it looks very like Cryptolaemus, which isn't native to the UK, but sold widely as a predator of mealy bugs. They eventually pupate and emerge as a ladybird-like beetle.
I wonder where it came from?

There were loads of them on and around the pots that I’d recently put out.