The SBS is a soft scale. They look more or less like small, round, light-colored apple seeds stuck under the bark scales. Because they so closely resemble buds on the twig both in appearance and placement, spruce bud scales are often overlooked upon casual inspection. They are more common lower on the tree and at the tips of lower branches. The mature spruce bud scales very closely resemble a somewhat abnormally developed buds.
Winter is passed as immature scales clustered about terminal and lateral buds.
Just before the spruce comes out of dormancy in the spring, the immature female scales begin to grow rapidly. They complete their development and produce eggs by early summer. Keep spruces healthy. Fertilize weakened trees. Water if necessary.