Males are protected by armor until they develop into winged adults. Since female armored scales are not capable of walking once they have settled, long range dispersal happens by passive transport of infested plant material. Wind is an agent of dispersal and also one of mortality, since crawlers dislodged by wind may not land on suitable host plants. Male crawlers tend to settle in clusters. In the last two armored stages and after emergence from the armor males do not feed.
Adult males have wings, but are capable of only weak flight.
They are easily carried by wind. Males live only a few hours, emerging in late afternoon to mate. Because of their tiny size, short life span, and nocturnal preferences, males are not often seen. Since armored scales are spread chiefly through movement of nursery stock, only propagative material that is free of scales should be planted. As plants grow, pruning maintains spacing and allows maximum coverage when using insecticides.