Woolly apple aphids. If so, the white stuff is somewhat cottony whereas if spittlebug, the stuff is wet! If woolly apple aphids, know that they have a complex life cycle with some of the critters on the roots year-round. This post was edited by jean001a on Sat, Jun 7, 14 at 20:13

Ian - THANK YOU! That looks like exactly what I have. I am going out for insecticidal soap this morning. I have a tree sprayer which ought to reach, and it sounds like the soap won't harm the other residents of the butterfly garden. Curious how rapidly these appeared and covered the tree! I am thankful not to have a forest of those trees ... :)

sounds like a lot of worry for something that may never happen .... especially prophylactic chemical use ... in my z5 MI .... near the OH border ... white pine grow 3 to 5 feet per year,once established .... re-leader extremely quickly ... and are basically weed trees ... in the sense that you cant beat them back with a stick ... once they get going .... some of your presumptions MIGHT be wrong ... the fact that it is in the wide open.. suggests not just your conclusion.. but the conclusion that the odds of any given bug finding it low ... and that you will be able to ladder up the thing for 10 years ... i would bet on MAYBE 3 years ... since you wont be putting a ladder up against fresh weak growth .... so.. i would wonder if all your worry is worth it .... also .. given their growth rate.. i hope you planted it a good 20 to 30 feet from your house .. they are not strong wooded ... and subject to shedding large parts in 20 or 30 years.. in harsh weather.. like winter ice storms and wind .... good luck ken

need a better pic of the eggs.. and a scale ... and if we cant ID it.. try the garden clinic forum ... there are some bug sperts over there ... keep in mind.. there are a lot more beneficial bugs.. than bad ... so dont go hyper on removal.. until you get the ID .... [are they already cut off.. and in a plastic bag?? .. lol] you have been holding it in a pot???? .. if so.. thats the yellow issue ... probably lack of nutrients ... how did you protect the pot for winter.. was it in sun.. so the black pot froze and thawed all winter????? ken