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. The legs and 10-segmented antennae are apparent, but the mouthparts are absent. 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 4-6 weeks, and oviposit for about one week after mating.
Males survive for only a few days after emerging.
Eggs are laid in jumbled masses along with the waxy filamentous secretions in protected places such as under bark crevices, near pruning cuts, and occasionally in the calyx of fruit. The summer generation eggs have an incubation period of about 11 days. The first and second larval instars of the female and male CMB are virtually indistinguishable. 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.