[2] The type specimen came from India, probably occurring on Maytenus emarginata, however for nearly two hundred years the authorship was wrongly attributed to (James) Anderson.

The body is hidden under a roughly convex, circular or oval covering of wax which it has secreted; this is white in nymphs and young adults, and becomes pinkish in older individuals.

These include such cultivated crops as apple, pear, plum, citrus, mango, tamarind, fig, pomegranate, avocado, tea, coffee, squash and pepper, as well as many ornamental plants.

It feeds on the sap of its host plant causing lack of vigour, wilting, shedding of leaves and dieback.

On ornamental plants the insects are unattractive, and the honeydew they copiously produce encourages the growth of sooty mould, which is both unsightly and blocks out the light, reducing photosynthesis.