The critter on the blue background is a beneficial insect. Likely a syrphid fly larvae; They kill aphids. The aults are also called flower flies or hover flies and, because of their markings, resemble bees. You said you " watched adult mealybugs almost 1/4" long crawl out of that mess" If that critter had a shaggy white waxy covering, they were most likely a coccinelid larva- in the same family as ladybugs you see every day. One kind we have around here is Cryptolaemus. The leaf galls are one of those things that nature does. Seldom if ever damaging to the tree's health.

How tall are the kids, shoulder to floor? Say they are 3 feet...then buy 2 yds of polar fleece per child, then fold the piece in half so you have a doubled rectangle that is 1 yd long. Cut a neck hole ... A semi circle...in the center of the fold through both layers of fabric. Then cut a slit through just the top layer from the neck hole to the edge. You now have a robe with open sides. If necessary, you can cut the sides in to fit the length go the child's arms better...or it may be fine. Buy some cording to use as a belt to wrap around the waist to hold the robe shut. The beauty of polar fleece is it will not ravel. If you want to get more complicated, you can buy some fabric glue to glue the side seams shut, but not all the way up so there is room for the arms to go through.

Hey! This is my first time posting in the bird section. Anyway, I thought I would share a couple pictures I took a couple months ago when the weather was colder here in the Midwest. I see at least 16 cardinals but I think there are closer to 20 (the ones that aren’t bright red are harder to see). I’m a beginner when it comes to this stuff. Probably a little over a year ago (or longer) I found myself in Walmart, stopped, and looking at bird seed. Not only did I find it odd that I was looking at bird seed, but it was confirmation I was getting old HAHAHA… Furthermore, I bought the seed. I placed seeds on my back deck rail and would watch the birds in the morning as I drank my coffee. After about a week I found myself getting more and more birds. Then I started feeding them at lunch time. Before long, I told my husband it was time to buy a bird feeder. I bought the cheap ones but they have held up. Long story short, I started with a bag of seed, which lead to one bird feeder, which eventually lead to several feeders. I don’t use them all during the summer months. I’m also starting to look for higher quality feeders. I bought my first droll yankee feeder the other day at Walmart (finch feeder). I was so excited too. I was at Lowes first but didn’t see any finch feeders I liked. Plus, they were all made in China. So I checked out Walmart and was happy to find an American made feeder. I started seeing the yellow finches within about 3 days of putting the feeder out there. Far away view from my back porch... close up (sorry it's blurry)

5 muzzles, 20 legs. I counted the muzzles first. :^) Rusty