Bug FAQTwo-speckled Cuckoo Spider Wasp
Ceropales bipunctata · Order: Hymenoptera · Family: Pompilidae
Ceropales bipunctata has a single cream-colored dot on each side of its thorax. It lives in open habitats such as dune systems and fields along the Atlantic Coast up to New Brunswick, Canada, and feeds mainly on goldenrod nectar. The wasp is an obligate kleptoparasite, stealing spider-wasp prey for its larvae, which eat only non-vital organs of the captured prey.
Source: Wikipedia
How to recognize it
A cream-colored dot appears on each side of the thorax.
Source: Wikipedia
Where it lives
It inhabits dune systems and open fields. The species also occurs in other open areas.
Source: Wikipedia
What it eats
Adults feed mainly on nectar from goldenrods, especially Canada goldenrod, and other common nectaring plants.
Source: Wikipedia
Life cycle
The wasp is an obligate kleptoparasite that steals spider-wasp prey, usually from Anoplius aethiops or A. cleora, and brings it to its own burrow for its larva. The larva consumes only the non-vital organs of the stolen prey, avoiding vital tissues.
Source: Wikipedia
Where it comes from
It is found along the Atlantic Coast of North America as far north as New Brunswick, Canada.
Source: Wikipedia
Where it is found in the US
Recorded in 20 of 51 states and DC. Most records: Illinois, Virginia, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, North Carolina, Ohio, Florida, Tennessee.
Darker = more records. Counts are museum and citizen-science records, not population size.
Source: GBIF
Status: native in North America; native in Canada. Source: iNaturalist
Months it is reported in the US
Source: GBIF
More photos
Questions people ask
What does Ceropales bipunctata look like?
It has a single cream-colored dot on each side of its thorax.
Source: Wikipedia
Where does Ceropales bipunctata live?
It lives in dune systems, open fields and other open areas along the Atlantic Coast up to New Brunswick, Canada.
Source: Wikipedia
What does Ceropales bipunctata eat?
Adults feed mainly on nectar from goldenrods and other common nectaring plants.
Source: Wikipedia
How does the larva of Ceropales bipunctata develop?
The female steals spider-wasp prey and brings it to her burrow, where the larva eats only the non-vital organs of the prey.
Source: Wikipedia
Same family (Pompilidae)
Sources
- Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ceropales_bipunctata
Look it up elsewhere: GBIF · iNaturalist · BugGuide · Wikipedia
Text written 2026-10-28 from the sources above and checked sentence by sentence against them. Data fetched 2026-10-28.