Spider building her egg case. She first suspended a leaf from multiple threads of web. In this photo, she is creating the pad on which she will deposit her eggs. She will then cover the eggs with more web and probably draw the sides of the leaves together to form a little packet. She will then leave the leaf hanging with her eggs hidden in the folded leaf. The process takes an hour or two in my experience.
The larva is hidden under the strands of fecal matter.
Scale insects are often legless, oddly shaped little croitters which attach themselves to plants and feed from them. They usually excrete sugar-rich honeydew and this substance is of great interest to ants. As it happens, ants deter tiny wasps and flies which may parasatize the scale insect. You can see the ant lapping up a tiny droplet of honeydew in this photo. A sweet deal, so to speak.
