Maple Scales are a small, flattened, brown scale insect about 1/8″ long. In early summer mature females begin to secrete white, waxy, cottony-appearing egg sacs in which they lay as many as 1,500 eggs. Severely infested trees look like they are covered with strings of popcorn.
They can be found on all species of maples but have a strong preference for Silver Maple. It is also known to be able to survive on honey and black locust, white ash, Euonymus, oak, boxelder, dogwood, hackberry, sycamore, beech, elm, willow, basswood, and poplar.