Zeller's Macalla Moth

Macalla zelleri · Order: Lepidoptera · Family: Pyralidae

Also called: Zeller's Epipaschia Moth, Zeller's Epipaschia, Zeller's Macalla

No source yet on danger. We have no source yet on whether it bites, stings or damages anything.
Zeller's Macalla Moth
Photo: Nick Block, CC BY

The moth shows a yellow body with a light-red head speckled with pale freckles. Its larvae feed on the plant Rhus radicans.

Source: Wikipedia

How to recognize it

The moth has a yellow body and a light-red head dotted with pale freckles.

Source: Wikipedia

What it eats

The caterpillars feed on Rhus radicans.

Source: Wikipedia

Where it comes from

Its range includes Ontario, New Jersey, Florida, Arizona and Minnesota.

Source: Wikipedia

Where it is found in the US

Recorded in 38 of 51 states and DC. Most records: Texas, Alabama, Massachusetts, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Kansas, North Carolina, New York.

Darker = more records. Counts are museum and citizen-science records, not population size.

Source: GBIF

Status: native in North America; native in United States; native in Canada. Source: iNaturalist

Months it is reported in the US

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Source: GBIF

More photos

Zeller's Macalla Moth photo 2
Photo: Annika Lindqvist, CC BY
Zeller's Macalla Moth photo 3
Photo: Annika Lindqvist, CC BY
Zeller's Macalla Moth photo 4
Photo: Annika Lindqvist, CC BY
Zeller's Macalla Moth photo 5
Photo: Jeff Niznik, CC BY-SA

Same family (Pyralidae)

Indian-Meal MothIndian-Meal MothPlodia interpunctellaCan damage your homeGreater Wax MothGreater Wax MothGalleria mellonellaMediterranean Flour MothMediterranean Flour MothEphestia kuehniellaCan damage your homeMeal mothMeal mothPyralis farinalisDamages trees, gardens or cropsBee MothBee MothAphomia sociellaNuisance, not dangerousYellow-fringed Dolichomia MothYellow-fringed Dolichomia MothHypsopygia olinalis

Sources

  • Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Macalla_zelleri

Look it up elsewhere: GBIF · iNaturalist · BugGuide · Wikipedia

Text written 2026-10-24 from the sources above and checked sentence by sentence against them. Data fetched 2026-10-24.

How this page works

This is one bug's fact sheet. The colored box at the top says whether it is dangerous. Sections below cover how to recognize it, whether it is a pest, and how to deal with it. The US map shows which states have records; tap a state to see other bugs there.

Every fact on Bug FAQ comes from a named source (university extension sites, government agencies, GBIF, iNaturalist, Wikipedia). The source is linked next to each section. If we have no source for something, we leave it out.