I check my garden several times a day and this appeared very quickly. I noticed what looked like thousands of tiny pieces of white rice on the ground below my asparagus. When you look at the asparagus it looks like it glistens and the fine "leaves" are thicker and with a magnifying glass I can see millions of tiny things that look like fleas. I sprayed sevin on it.

What surprised me is I have never seen this before on asparagus and how how quickly they appeared.

Much of the new growth looks "stumped" and more bushy then before. Is this related?

For a few weeks it appears like asparagus shoots are opening up immediately - as soon as they exit the soil.