It is contained in a cell somewhat longer than the females with a round trap door through which it emerges, sometimes winged, to walk over the females, fertilising them. It then dies. The female cell is shorter and roundish in shape and remains fixed to the twig. She retains her mouthparts but fails to develop any wings or eyes. While developing rudimentary antennae and legs, she really becomes an immobile shell-like organism with little resemblance to an insect.
Females become little more than egg producing organisms.
The female increases in size to accommodate her growing number of eggs. Lac resin is secreted at a faster rate and a continuous layer coalesces or grows into one body. After fourteen weeks the female contracts allowing light into the cell and lays her eggs. When the eggs hatch they emerge as larvae and the whole process begins all over again. After the cycle has been completed and around the time when the next generation begin to emerge, the resin encrusted branches are harvested.