Mealybugs

[TreeAce]

I am assuming these are mealybugs. Can anyone tell me what kind? I always thought they just affected small plants. These were up in a beech tree. There were some more that I saw on limbs I didn't want to remove. Will they harm the tree?

 

[ATH]

Beech bark aphids

they can harm individual limbs, but hurting a notable portion of the tree would be an exception

I usually just prune out the infected branches

I have seen more this year that I have in others (in NW Ohio), so maybe they are on the rise???