My Natchez are 24 years old - whatever it is I wouldn't worry too much - Natchez are impossible to kill - mine did freeze to the ground one year back in the late 80's, but they came back from the roots.
Anyway, ants could indicate aphids, tiny little bugs that excrete honeydew which the ants like. Is the white a powdery texture? That could indicate powdery mildew, but that usually shows up on the leaves, and I don't think Natches is really prone to it, my Natchez gets only every once in a while - it depends if there is good air circulation around them or not. Less air could cause an outbreak. If the leaves aren't affected I wouldn't do anything. I'd just watch the leaves and if they start to get shiney and sticky I'd treat for aphids however you choose to do it - either organically or chemically. If the leaves start getting a whitish mottling on them that looks dull, you could treat for mildew, but I usually don't. I don't personally treat mine for either. Natchez is tuff.

Thanks for the quick reply. It isnt the white powdery mildew, that is the first thing I thought but dismissed since it isnt on the leaves...I will keep an eye on it, Thanks again for the reply!

Interesting. We have some of that white, liquid droplets on some branches one of our 3 yr old Natchez's. I trimmed a few branches inside to let the air through and sprayed with Garrett Juice. Not sure what it is -- it's not powdery mildew.

Bill, I scrapped one off and rub it between my fingers, and its red inside, like blood... could they be some kind of eggs? It is really strange.

I think it's some sort of leaf hopper, a little bug that sucks sap. They whip up a froth of plant juices to camouflage their presence. Sometime it is foamy and sometimes it in the form of a little dry white whisps depending on what kind of leaf hopper it is.

You can knock them off with a hard blast of water from the hose or you can spray them with neem oil. I've never had them to do a whole lot of damage.

Someone suggested that it also sounds like Scale, could that be a possibility? However your description is very close to what I am seeing too...I just sprayed the branches with an organic insect killer, I will check it again tomorrow.

May be cottony cushion scale. But I am guessing it is mealy bug. Either can be sprayed with a veggie oil at a 1/4 cup per gallon of water with a few drops of dishsoap to emulsify the oil a bit. Spray at sunrise or if its not cloudy and cool you might be better off spraying almost at sunset. Oil can burn leaves so best not done on sunny days or with temps above 85 degrees. You may need a second spray about 7 to no more than 10 days apart to catch any new ones (babies). In a few days 4 or 5 rub again and see if the liquid is still red.
Good Luck and Happy Growing David

Thanks so much David, I mixed up the recipe as you directed, but before put it in a spray bottle, I doused a rag in the mixtured and cleaned off the branches as best that I could, I got quite a bit of those little buggers! Then I sprayed every branch. I will check it every day! Thanks again!

Totally sounds like cottony cushion scale - they are gross little suckers. Orangey-red when you squish Âem open. That white stuff actually is a wax they secrete to protect themselves. Hard buggers to kill. I use a dormant oil to kill them off (suffocates them) - but David is right on, don't do it on sunny days.

Hello Deb,

I am seeing the same problem on my crepe myrtle. Ants running up and down the branches, white specs on the branches, and I scraped off one of the specs and smooshed it...was a red gooey mess inside...I figure it must be some sort of insect egg.

Anyways, did you solve the problem on your plant? If so, can you please tell me exactly what you did?

Thanks!
Melanie