The scale is glossy, hard and brittle; normally a dark red-brown colour, it is sometimes dull and black due to being coated with sooty mould.

[1] The adult scales cluster on woody twigs and small branches of the host plant, forming bumps and knobs when they are plentiful.

Because the adults are immobile, it is the crawler that may disperse the insect to new hosts, the nymphs being carried by the wind or adhering to animals or birds.

[1] In the Indian subcontinent, the lobate lac scale is not a significant pest, presumably because it has natural enemies that keep it under control, however in Florida this is not the case.

Researchers in India have identified four chalcidoid wasps that parasitize the scale insects, and these are being studied to see whether any would be suitable to act in biological pest control.