Wasp Parasitizer Moth

Chalcoela pegasalis

''Chalcoela pegasalis'', the wasp parasitizer moth, is a moth in the family Crambidae. It was described by Francis Walker in 1859. It is found in Cuba, Jamaica, the French Antilles, Puerto Rico and from southern Ontario and Maryland to Florida, east to Texas and north to Illinois.
Wasp Parasitizer Moth (Chalcoela pegasalis) Found on a blanket in my bedroom. As its common name implies, its larvae are parasitoids and feed on the larvae of paper wasps! Chalcoela pegasalis,Geotagged,Summer,United States

Appearance

The wingspan is 14–18 mm. The forewings are brown in the basal and terminal areas, but speckled with grey in the median area. Both the antemedial and postmedial lines are white. The hindwings are speckled grey with two blackish patches in the lower median area. Adults are on wing from May to September.

Distribution

southern Ontario and Maryland to Florida, east to Texas, north to Illinois
also occurs in Jamaica (where the type specimen was collected), the French Antilles, and perhaps elsewhere in the West Indies

Habitat

may be found around or sometimes in homes, or anywhere in the vicinity of Polistes wasp nests; adults are nocturnal and come to light

Food

larvae are parasitoids, feeding on the larvae of paper wasps.

Migration

adults fly from May to September

References:

Some text fragments are auto parsed from Wikipedia.

https://bugguide.net/node/view/30632
Taxonomy
KingdomAnimalia
DivisionArthropoda
ClassInsecta
OrderLepidoptera
FamilyCrambidae
GenusChalcoela
SpeciesC. pegasalis
Photographed in
United States of America