I came home to a bizarre sight on my maple tree. Large white puffs have covered the trunk and many branches. Black Ants are all over these. I tried opening many of them and saw little yellow specs (eggs maybe) and the white "puff" was like a soft coccoon that spread out easily and was very sticky. Each puff has a light brown cap. These look like the kernal of popcorn. I live in south western Ontario (Elmira). I have never seen this before. No other tree in my area has any of these. Any ideas of what this is?
Lecanium (or similar) scale insects, which the ants are visiting for their sticky secretions - insects that suck plant sap have to excrete excess sugars.
