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).
White moths
Check blooming Yucca flowers.
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.
GA | AL | WA | FR | CL | MO | HO | BA | BC | HA | CE | PG | AA | CV | CH | SM | KE | QA | CN | TA | DO | WI | SO | WO |