Yucca Moth Tegeticula yuccasella Riley, 1873    Synonyms: Hodges #0198.
Kingdom Animalia   >   Phylum Arthropoda   >   Class Insecta   >   Order Lepidoptera   >   Family Prodoxidae   >   Genus Tegeticula   

Status:

The Yucca Moth may represent a complex of species. "Recently the species traditionally called T. yuccasella has been identified as being a complex of at least 13 species, many of which have very distinctive biology. Among them are two non-pollinating species of 'cheater yucca moths'. The reader should bear in mind that many papers written before the recent revision that provide, e.g., measures of seed consumption, actually provide composite measurements of all coexisting species. This problem only applies to the yuccasella complex ('the white species')." (Tree of Life, 1997).

Description:

White moths

Where to find:

Check blooming Yucca flowers.

Relationships:

Yucca Moths have an obligate mutualistic relationship with the genus Yucca. The moths spend a year pupating underground, near a Yucca plant, and when the plant blooms, typically in May or June, the moths emerge and mate on the flowers. Female moths that carry pollen to the flower of another plant pollinate it, and they also lay their eggs on the ovary of the visited plant. The larvae that develop from the moth's eggs feed only on the seeds of ripened ovaries of the Yucca plant. The Yucca Moth is the only pollinator of this genus of plants.

There are 32 records in the project database.

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A group of Yucca Moths in a Yucca flower in Harford Co., Maryland (6/14/2018). Photo by Josh Emm. (MBP list)

Yucca Moths on Adam's Needle (Yucca) in Anne Arundel Co., Maryland (6/14/2014). Photo by Richard Orr. (MBP list)

A Yucca Moth on Adam's Needle in Anne Arundel Co., Maryland (6/15/2014). Photo by Bill Hubick. (MBP list)

A Yucca Moth in Prince George's Co., Maryland (6/20/2014). Photo by Rick Borchelt. (MBP list)

Yucca Moth in Harford Co., Maryland (Date obscured). (c) Josh Emm, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC). Photo by Josh Emm. (MBP list)

A Yucca Moth in Harford Co., Maryland (6/19/2018). Note the hunched appearance where the thorax meets the head. This is key in ruling out the very similar Bogus Yucca Moth. Photo by Josh Emm. (MBP list)

Yucca Moths in Allegany Co., Maryland (6/20/2015). Photo by Kimberly Booth. (MBP list)

A Yucca Moth in Allegany Co., Maryland (7/11/2014). Photo by Bill Hubick. (MBP list)

A Yucca Moth on Adam's Needle in Howard Co., Maryland (6/16/2014). Photo by Justine Schaeffer. (MBP list)

A Yucca Moth in Kent Co., Maryland (6/20/2014). Photo by Rick Borchelt. (MBP list)

A Yucca Moth in Howard Co., Maryland (6/17/2004). Photo by Larry Line. (MBP list)


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