They are tiny, winged creatures with eyes and legs. When mature they emerge from the armor in the late afternoon, living only a few hours to mate. Because of the late emergence and short life of males, it is unlikely to find them in the field. 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.
Adult males are capable of only weak flight or wind transport.
Living only a few hours, they do not feed. 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. These beetle adults and larvae are carnivorous, eating soft-bodied insects. Scale covers that look chewed and have no insect underneath are signs that predators have been feeding on the scales.