I know what a ladybug larvae looks like - this isn’t quite it? But I don’t know what else it could look like, or be similar too. It seems a bit too spiky!
The ants. Ants tending galls on branch of red oak
About 8mm - 9mm long
I thought it was interesting that this ant and the ants I entered in another observation (https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/86365200) were in exactly the same place. I didn't see them interacting but I suspect they were. I thought they might just be color morphs of the same species.
Executing a slave raid in the late afternoon, early evening. Identification provided by James Trager who wrote the most recent revision of the genus.