Adults are about 0.5 inches (13 mm) in length and have a distinct yellow head with a silver-grey or beige body.

[2] [3] Lesser wax moths are common in most parts of the world, except in areas with cold climates.

Lesser wax males produce ultrasonic pulses in order to attract females.

By eating the combs, the moths can reduce the harm to insects of that region and provide a clean space for other organisms to inhabit.

[9] Lesser wax moths are known or suspected to inhabit most of Africa (including Madagascar), Australia, Europe (especially some more remote regions, such as Greece) and North America, as well as parts of the Neotropics (such as Colombia, Jamaica, Puerto Rico and Trinidad), the Bengal region, Japan, Sri Lanka, New Zealand, and the Marquesas Islands and Tahiti in French Polynesia.

[1][5][4] Lesser wax moths are found everywhere that honey bees are present, but they are more successful in warmer, tropical areas than in colder climates.

[9] Females deposit their eggs in crevices in or near bee hives so that a food source will be close to the emerging larvae.

Adults live for about a week and most of their activity, including female oviposition and mating, occurs at night.

[9] In order to attract mates, male lesser wax moths stay in a stationary position and emit a high-frequency sound.

This may occur because the attractive males are better equipped to escape from bats, thus decreasing the apparently high risk.

[17] Lesser wax male moths emit a sex pheromone that is made up of two components: n-undecanal and cis-11-n-octadecenal.

[8][16][17][18] When males are under attack by bats, they stop producing calling sounds but will continue emitting the pheromone.

Males emit short ultrasonic pulses with a high frequency of 100 kHz and an intensity of 93 dB.

[8] Components of the male ultrasonic pulses are genetically based, but environmental temperature can affect the specific genotype's performance.

These changes most likely occur due to physiological effects, but the increase in pulse rate and acceptance threshold may also be used to avoid predation.

Females prefer males with a fast pulse pair rate, high peak song amplitude, and large wing beat asynchrony.

[7] Because the moths are close together in the leks, some males will purposely run into stationary neighbors who are in the process of signaling in order to move them.

[18] Additionally, studies have been conducted that show these moths increase their signal rate when having to compete with others for a local female, but due to the physical demands of an increased signal rate, its duration typically lasts only five to ten minutes.

[6] A disorder called bald brood occurs in hives infested by lesser wax moths.

When feeding on the comb, larvae tunnel under capped cells containing honey bee pupae.

Therefore, stored combs that do not have any worker bees are highly susceptible to attacks by the lesser wax moths.

Extreme heat (114 °F (46 °C)) can also be used to kill larvae, but combs are susceptible to melting at similar high temperatures.

For example, carbon monoxide is effective in killing the larvae and the comb is left unharmed, but it is toxic to the person administering the fumes.