Fleemo wrote:

While admiring the nice new foliage on my japanese maple, I noticed a
few strange looking galls on the bark of the tree. They are a about
the size of a pistacho shell, and are white with black checks. A
photo can be found at http://www.inhouzemusic.com/zzz/gall.html

Any clue as to what these strange little balls are? Insect eggs
perhaps? Are they detrimental to the health of the tree?

Thanks in advance.

Can you scrape them off easily? As best as I can tell from the photo,
they look suspiciously like a form of scale....

pam - gardengal