Often I'll get a call about a pest problem and I know if one person is seeing this problem, others probably are too. Today's sighting....Woolly Alder Aphid! If you are seeing fluffy white masses on your silver maples or alder trees, it's probably this critter. From what I've read on the web, some people actually enjoy their almost fairy like appearance. They look like a bug wrapped in an ostrich-feather boa. For the most part, they shouldn't require chemical or other type of intervention, though they may cause a mess with the honeydew they excrete. For more detailed information, follow the link to the NCSU insect notes:
http://www.ces.ncsu.edu/depts/ent/notes/O&T/trees/note06/note06.html
