It bores into the stems of of this plant in order to feed.
(Photo: courtesy of Quentin Paynter and Grant Flanagan)
The adult moths look remarkably like wasps, but have a wider connection between the thorax and abdomen. The moths have transparent wings each with abroad black margin. The bodies are black, with a pair of dorsolateral white stripes on the thorax and three transverse white bands on the abdomen.
The chemical nature of the pheromones of this species have been determined.
Further reading :
T.D. Eichlin & S. Passoa, A new clearwing moth (Sesiidae), from central America: a stem borer in Mimosa pigra, Journal of the Lepidopterists Society, Vol. 37 (1983), pp 193-206.
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(updated 15 March 2002)