Short filaments of wax extend from around the margin of the entire body. Lateral wax filaments are usually less than one fourth as long as the breadth of the body and those towards the back of the insect are one-half as long as the body. Adult females start birthing larvae about 26 days into adulthood. They continue birthing larvae for 30 days. Each female produces about 350 larvae, but there are some that produce up to 1000 young.
Females die about four days after they cease to produce young.
Duration of adult life varies from 48-72 days, averaging at about 61 days. Compared with females, the males are short lived. The winged males live from 2 to 7 days. The gray pineapple mealybug is normally found on the aerial parts of its hosts such as leaves, stems, aerial roots, and flower and fruit clusters. They provide the mealybugs shelter, protection from predators and parasites and keep them clean from detritus that may accumulate in the secreted honeydew and be deleterious to the colony.