Saltbush scale

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Here's something new I've noticed out on my West Odessa treks, this crusty growth. So far I've only seen it on fourwing saltbushes (Atriplex canescens) and so far only on young ones. That is to say, on salt bushes that have grown to be a few twigs only.

It doesn't come off the twig easily, but twig and all I crumbled some in my fingers. It felt and looked like crunchy granola. In this picture I didn't capture well the rust-red liquid that also was released. It didn't stain my fingers and wasn't sticky.

I didn't see anything identifiable in the mass, like insects or larva, but I could have missed it, or smashed it. I smelled it, but didn't notice anything remarkable. (And Lord knows, I certainly didn't taste it!)

This stuff -- whatever it is -- raises a lot of questions for me. It appears to be parasitic, is it? Is it a fungus? Or could it be the work of some sort of insect? Will it kill the saltbush? Does it only grow on the saltbush? Is there some reason it only seems to attach to the young bushes, or is that coinicidence? And heck, I might as well ask -- is it edible? Perhaps not to humans but to other critters? And my biggest question, what is that blood-like stuff in it?!

An inquiry to Mr. Burr Williams at the Sibley Nature Center is in order.

UPDATE: Burr has identified it as insect scale. He's seen it and yes, it does attack specifically the saltbush and can kill it. We still don't know what kind of species of scale it is (there's only what, a billion species of insects on the planet?) but I'll keep an eye out for its name.