© Copyright 2021, Sibley Nature Center. The Five-spotted Bogus Yucca Moth is known from only two sites in Canada, one of which was discovered in 2011. Often, rigorous studies of minute morphological details, tests of reproductive isolation, DNA analysis, and molecular biology techniques will be used to draw the dividing lines between species (9). Biologists have only recently determined that almost every species of yucca has its own species of yucca moth; some yuccas have two moth species. The female moth then flies to another yucca flower immediately going to the flower’s ovary where the moth uses her ovipositor to insert eggs. Charles Valentine Riley (1843-1895) was a British-born American entomologist and talented natural history artist. William E. Ferguson. We used nuclear and mitochondrial DNA markers to examine genetic structure in a moth population where a cheater species is … Engelmann asked then Missouri State Entomologist, Charles Riley, to investigate the relationship between moths and yuccas. Two of the three yucca moth genera in particular, Tegeticula and Parategeticula, have an obligate pollination mutualism with yuccas. Moth and yucca are dependent upon each other, both benefiting from a relationship known as obligate pollination/herbivory mutualism. He became the first state entomologist for Missouri primarily to study grasshoppers and the grasshopper plagues of the American West between 1873 and 1877. At the same time, Riley significantly contributed to the general knowledge of insect biology with studies of the 13 and 17- year cicadas, and the pollination of yuccas---a subject of special interest to Charles Darwin (1). As a footnote, there are no common vernacular names for the listed species of moths, other than lumping them together and calling them “yucca moths.” The moth-plant relationship goes back at least 40 Mya (16). The moths use these tentacle to collect balls of pollen from yucca flowers. 3. It has a wingspan of 18 to 28 mm, and females are slightly larger than males. Yuccas are actively pollinated by female moths in the genus Tegeticula that also lay eggs into the flowers. Compa… Tegeticula is one of the two genera of true yucca moth pollinators of yuccas. Like Tegeticula, the females of P. pollenifera have maxillary tentacles used for gathering pollen and actively pollinate its host plants, but unlike Tegeticula, the females possess a blunt ovipositor used to prepare a groove, usually in a flower pedicel, and lay a row of eggs. It is a host plant for the Yucca Moth. The yucca moth family. She scrapes pollen from the flower’s anthers, packing it into a ball carried beneath her head. As a group, they are smallish and nondescript. Some species are accidental pollinators when carrying host plant pollen on their bodies. Look for this PDF icon at the top of each page as you search and browse. When the eggs are inserted, she deposits a little pollen from the previous yucca flower onto the second flower’s stigma and packing it tightly. The flowers on non-pollinated Some of them have larvae that feed on developing seeds. Finally the yucca-moth mutualism (living together in such a way as to increase each other’s reproductive success) is vulnerable to exploitation by cheaters: other moth species lay eggs within fertilized flowers but do not pollinate the flower. Soapweed yucca (Yucca glauca) is a common plant in the Great Plains but also occurs in dry sandy and loess soils in Iowa, Missouri, and Arkansas. Such a tight mutualism has risks for both partners. Two genera, Tegeticula and Parategeticula are known as “true yucca moths”; a third genus, Prodoxus, are “bogus yucca moths”, and a fourth genus, the closely related Greya (sometimes called greya moths) are of interest for plant-insect coevolutionary studies. They are small, white, and grub-like, turning pink to dark red with age. Yuccas are only pollinated by th… The early developmental stages of the moth (the larvae, or caterpillars), are found inside Yucca flowers (also known as Soapweed), where they feed on developing seeds. Tegeticula yuccasella. Yucca moths are native to the Southwest, but their range has expanded north and east with yucca plants. North American Moth Photographers Group at the Mississippi Entomological Museum at Mississippi State University, 210044.00-0200.1. The key component of yucca moth habitat is the occurrence of yucca plants. The young larvae bore into the young fruit of Y. schottii and Y. elephantipella forming galls that replace several seeds. One species, Parategeticula pollenifera, can be found in the pine-oak forests in southwestern Arizona, southwestern New Mexico, and Veracruz, Mexico, and is known to coexist with a member of the Tegeticula yuccasella complex. Although dozens of other yucca moth and yucca plant species have similar relationships, the Tegeticula yuccasella andYucca elata,in the United States' … Information on this Species is incomplete... Alberta Lepidopterists' Guild. Over millions of years of coevolution, the yucca moth has come to depend exclusively on the yucca plant blossoms as a repository for eggs and on the seeds as a food source for its larvae, and the yucca plant has come to depend exclusively on the moth as an agent for pollination. The Yucca Moth family is a primitive one that is found worldwide, though not all Prodoxids are involved with yuccas. Several yucca species are protected in the states in which they occur. Certain species of the yucca moth have evolved antagonistic features against the plant and do not assist in the plant's pollination efforts while continuin… The moths then fly to another flower, where they use their tentacles to deposit the pollen onto the floral stigma – the receptive surface where the pollen needs to land in order to fertilize the flower. Bees - Discover Life. Prodoxidae. The adults are small, diurnal, and have tiny spines covering their wings. Ecologists long believed that one species of yucca moth (Tegeticula synthetica) pollinates both kinds of Joshua trees. Yucca is also native to some of the islands of the Caribbean. Yuccas are noted for their evergreen rosettes of tough, sword-shaped leaves and large terminal panicles of whitish flowers. They are most easily identified by their presence within Yuccaflowers. They are famous for an old and intimate relationship with Yucca plants and are their obligate pollinators as well as herbivores. The yucca-yucca moth pollination mutualism is an excellent model in this context as there have been two origins of cheating from within the yucca moth lineage. Alternative Title: Tegeticula. North American Moth Photographers Group North American Stoneflies Odonata Central Orthoptera of the Northern Great Plains Orthoptera Species File Online Pacific Northwest Moths Singing Insects of North America (SINA) Trichoptera World Checklist An important plant for wildlife, it provides food and nesting for small mammals, birds, and reptiles. If everyone who uses this resource gives a small amount, we could cover our ongoing costs, develop new features, and upgrade the system. All species of Prodoxus complete their entire metamorphosis inside the host plant tissue, and only emerge as adults, and in some species after many years of larval diapause (12). In their native habitats, all these yucca species require pollination by a female moth of the genus Tegeticula (Pronuba). Birds and bats are common predators of … 1999. “A Sub-familial Classification for the Expanded Aspergalean Families Amaryllidaceae, Asparagaceae, and Xanthorraceae.”. Parategeticula are the other mutualistic pollinators of various Yucca species. We depend on donations to keep Butterflies and Moths of North America online and freely available. We need your help. Prodoxids are members of the superfamily Incurvarioidea. This variety of Yucca is among the most cold-hardy and landscape ready of the species. Interactions of these organisms range from obligate mutualism to commensalism to outright antagonism. Yucca is also native to the southeastern United States from Texas to Maryland. Systematic revision of the yucca moths in the. The Yucca Moth is a relatively small, slender-winged brown moth with a whitish head. Here's some links if you want to download a whole group. Two genera, Tegeticula and Parategeticula are known as “true yucca moths”; a third genus, Prodoxus, are “bogus yucca moths”, and a fourth genus, the closely related Greya (sometimes called greya moths) are of interest for plant-insect coevolutionary studies. Of the 80 or so species found worldwide, about 30 are native to North America. More recent morphological, molecular, and biological data show that T. yuccasella is instead a large complex of species that differ greatly in their biology (8). Female yucca moth depositing eggs. The narrative follows that when a gravid female yucca moth is ready to lay eggs, she visits a yucca flower to collect pollen with specialized maxillary palp mouthparts called tentacles. http://tolweb.org/Prodoxidae/11872/1997.01.13 in The Tree of Life Web Project, http://tolweb.org/. The flowers attract butterflies. Pellmyr, Olle. Email Address. Yucca Wild Buckwheat Eriogonum plumatella Eriogonum plumatella + Added; 6 Banana Yucca Yucca baccata var. … In the central United States, soapweed yucca (Yucca glauca) is pollinated by a moth known as Tegeticulla yuccasella. Greya subalba. Migration and Dispersal Ecologically, yuccas are adapted to a wide range of habitats from rocky deserts, grassland prairies, mountains, light woodlands’ coastal sands, and semi-arid subtropical and semi-temperate zones (4). 2. Yucca Moths (Tegeticula yuccasella) are small white moths with a wingspan of 18-27.5 mm. “Yuccas, Yucca Moths, and Coevolution: A Review.”, Chase, M.W. Top Each spring, adult moths emerge from underground cocoons and the males and females meet up with each other on yucca plants to mate. Yuccas have a very specialized, mutualistic pollination system, being pollinated by yucca moths (family Prodoxidae); the insect transfers the pollen from the stamens of one plant to the stigmaof another, and at the same time lays an egg in the flower; the moth larva then feeds on some of the developing seeds, always leaving enough seed to perpetuate the species. The mature larvae emerge from the fruit and burrow into the soil for pupation (11). Yucca moth, (genus Tegeticula), any of four species of insects of the Prodoxidae family of moths (order Lepidoptera). This moth species is an obligate stem borer on the stalks of Soapweed. Historically, three species of Tegeticula have been recognized, and one species, T. yuccasella, has been regarded as the pollinator of all but two species of Yucca. For more than 40 million years there has been a relationship between yucca plants and yucca moths. She may lay more eggs in the flower’s ovary or yet fly to another flower, but before leaving, she marks the flower with a pheromone signaling to competitors that there are eggs already present for too many eggs will cause the yucca to abort the flower. A species complex is a group of closely related, but distinct species of organisms that are so similar in appearance that it is often unclear in how to distinguish between species. Range. baccata. One species endemic to Mexico, Y. queretaroensis, is listed under CITES Appendix II, which restricts international trade in this rare, endangered plant. https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?=Yucca&oldid=954950506, https://en.wikipediaorg/w/index.php?title=Species_complex&oldid=957323164, http://tolweb.org/Tegeticula/12419/1997.01.13, https://tolweb.org/Prategeticula_pollenifera/12420/1996.01.01, http://tolweb.org/Prodoxus/12422/1997.01.13, http://tolweb.org/Prodoxus_quinquepunctellus/12428/1996.01.01, http://tolweb.org/Prodoxidae/11872/1997.01.13, Pellmyr, Olle. Most of the Tegeticula and Parategeticula are obligate pollinators, but two species of Tegeticula have circumvented the act of pollination and become cheaters by taking advantage of Yucca as a host plant, but without contribution. The yucca moths have a unique biology and are well-noted for their ancient relationships with Yucca ranging from obligate mutualism to commensalism to antagonism. Yucca moths (Tegeticula yuccasella) are actually a group of more than a dozen different species of small, rather nondescript whitish-gray bronze tinged moths. Among them are two non-pollinating species of 'cheater yucca moths'. The first recorded observation of yucca moths was made by physician and botanist, George Engelmann in St. Louis in 1872. I am studying whether the pollination mutualism or the seed-eating antagonism is the major driver in moth specialization. When a female is ready to lay eggs, she first goes to a yucca flower to collect pollen. The tissue in the gall serves as the primary food source for the developing larvae. The different closely related species, all of which are generally referred to as yucca moths, are difficult to distinguish without examination under a … Species: spp. They co-evolved over millions of years, and maintain a mutual dependence. Information on this Species is incomplete... Yucca Moth. The word "coevolution" speaks to organisms or systems that have interacted in ways that have influenced their evolution over time. Their bore holes are a common sight on trunks of such plants as the soaptree yucca. These small moths are typically white or gray and have relatively prominent maxillary and labial palpi that are shorter than the proboscis. "Yucca moths" have a remarkable biology. 1997. Larval survival is dependent on the mutualistic relationship between the Soapweed and its pollinator Yucca Moth. Information on this Species is incomplete... Bumble Bee Species Accounts at Montana Entomology Collection, Field Guide to Common Western Grasshoppers, Native Wildflowers and Bees of Western Montana, Natural Heritage MapViewer (Statewide Database of Animal Observations), North American Dragonflies - Slater Museum of Natural History, USDA Grasshoppers: their biology, identification, and management, Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation. Since greya moths are closely related to yucca moths they have become the subjects of numerous plant-insect coevolutionary studies. But greya moths lack the specialized behaviors and morphological structures characteristic of true pollinating yucca moths (15). The yucca plant is dependent upon the yucca moth for its survival and perpetuation of yucca plants. Yucca moths are members of the family Prodoxidae and the genus Tegeticula. Contact … The Yucca Moth is typically 0.4 inches to 0.5 inches (12mm to 13mm) in size and has the following descriptors / identifiers: white, black, gray, white, speckled, spotted, dots, flying, garden pest . The moth larvae feed exclusively on developing yucca seeds. In the Southwest, one of their most iconic partners is the Joshua tree. Only true yucca moths are known to pollinate yucca flowers. Prodoxus larvae feed on the vegetative parts of yuccas, but each species is highly specific in what tissues are used. The moth is equally dependent on the yucca. Examples include: 1. The genus Prodoxus are the non-pollinating “bogus yucca moths” that coexist on yuccas with the pollinating yucca moths, Tegeticula and Parategeticula. The eggs of all prodoxids are laid inside plant tissues where the larvae feed in stems, twigs, buds, seeds, or vegetative parts of developing fruits (5). and Fay, M.F. In Canada, Y. glauca and its pollinator moth Tegeticula yuccasella are both protected species. The Five-spotted Bogus Yucca Moth is known from only two sites in Canada, one of which was discovered in 2011. The adults are small with a wingspan between 4 and 16 mm and are usually dull colored, white, or gray. Password. Even though they belong to two different kingdoms in the universe of life on our planet, the yucca moth species known as "Tegeticula yuccasella" and the yucca plant species known, popularly, as the "soaptree yucca" and, scientifically, as the "Yucca elata" have forged an inseparable bond. 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