Garden Pests and Diseases: White Fuzzy Stuff on Rose Stems., 4 by bluemerle

bluemerle wrote:
I have been trying to identify these fuzzy guys for years. Even Flapdoddle doesn't know.
They weren't very many of them until this year. Last year I grew some Tomatoes, Bell Peppers, Very Hot Peppers, and a little Sweet Basil.
I've lived here in the desert of Las Vegas, (from San Diego), since 1994, and I have never seen all these other new variety of insects and true bugs, (Leaf Footed Plant Bug--ICK!!), ever before. Then, we had the worse and longest Summer on record here in the desert. My Roses really took a beating!
I joined a Rose Chat group and inquired there. The replies I got were --
Scale, Mealy Bugs, Wooly Aphids**my personal favorite, and now the latest , supposedly from UCDavis Extension, is White Leaf Hoppers.
I've gone through hundreds of photos of Leaf Hopper nymphs, and every time I click on a picture that looks like MY fuzzy guys, it comes up with Wooly Aphids. Mine don't jump around as much as I've seen on videos of some crazy Wooly Aphids, but they do wiggle when disrupted, but NO jumping off the stems, or flying around like leaf hoppers do. I've never seen any adult leaf hoppers, either. Of course they're small, but I've got a good eye, and I look a lot.
I've got a Digital USB Microscope that I use to take these photos with.
Unfortunately, Windows 10 doesn't seem to be compatible with the video part of my microscope, which shows them MOVING. I do have one that for some reason came out ok, but it's too long for Facebook and you don't accept videos.
Our 'local' Master Gardeners/extension is based in NORTH Nevada, UNReno. I live in Southern Nevada--totally different climates. There's not a lot of agriculture in Nevada..LOL. The only place that I can submit samples is in right in the middle of downtown LV, by the Strip..A place I avoid, and I'm disabled and unable to do the required amount of walking.
If anybody has a clue as to what my fuzzy guys are, I would truly appreciate it. They're causing noticeable damage when you remove the cottony, waxy material. They are never on the leaves, only the stems and the mid-ribs running down the center of the leaves.
Can somebody PLEASE help me? Thank You, Diane