The waxy mystery

ID: Indian Wax scale insect

Spotted this/these beauties on the young palm growth, in the society premises. They seemed to be in a variety of sizes, right from the tiny one seen on the right end of the frame to the ones as wide as the blade. Along the same there were a group of ants traversing through each of them ,not sure if they have a similar relationship as with the aphids.

Location: Thane

EXIF:
Canon 80D
Canon 100mm macro
F/ 9
Shutterspeed 1/250
ISO 640
Handheld, external flash fired

Wow! This is interesting. To an untrained eye this would initially look like some chewing gum or lozenge eaten by kids. Did you find lot of ants come later or just the one we see in this image. There are so many complex relationships these creatures have with each other, that I would like to read more on those. Thanks for sharing.

Best,
Sabyasachi