Males are protected by armor until they develop into tiny, winged adults that are very different in appearance and behavior from females. Since female armored scales are not capable of wandering once they have settled and started feeding, 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, although the cause of this is unknown. 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 or wind transport.
Males live only a few hours, emerging in late afternoon to mate. Because of their tiny size, short life, and evening activity, it's not likely to find adult males in the field. 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. Some of these, such as Lindorus lophanthae and Orcus chalybeus , have become established on the major Islands.