From 1950 to 1980, it was infrequently noticed as a fruit pest, but in the early 1980s it caused damage to apple crops in the Hudson and Champlain valleys, and to pears in western New York later in the eighties. The legs and antennae are inconspicuous. The body of the adult female is reddish-brown, but has a white appearance because it is covered with wax. There are two generations of Comstock mealybug in New York, each taking 60 to 90 days to complete, depending on seasonal temperatures. Adult females are present for a total of four to six weeks, and oviposit for about one week after mating.
Males survive for only a few days after emerging.
The summer generation eggs have an incubation period of about 11 days. It is 0.9 to 1.2 mm long and elongate-oval, with the head, thorax, and abdomen fused. The fourth stage of the immature male is the pupa. It is elongate, 1.2 to 1.4 mm long, and light reddish-brown. As with the adult male, it has three pairs of eyes and 1 0-segmented antennae.