Yucca Moth Yucca Plant Flower

In return yucca plants serve as host plants for the moths.

Yucca moth yucca plant flower. In fact the yucca and yucca moth share a symbiotic relationship that. These moths are important for the plant s survival as they are its only pollinator. Yucca air cleaning plant. The yucca plant flower also has an interesting relationship with a moth that pollinates the yucca and survives on its nectar.

Yucca whipplei the chaparral yucca our lord s candle spanish bayonet quixote yucca or foothill yucca is a species of flowering plant closely related to and formerly usually included in the genus yucca it is native to southern california united states and baja california mexico where it occurs mainly in chaparral coastal sage scrub and oak woodland. According to the nasa research the yucca is one of the. Yucca moths play an important role in the survival of yucca plants. In fact yucca flowers emit a fragrance each night that attracts the aptly named yucca moth.

The yucca plant reproduces through a symbiotic relationship with moths of the genus tegeticula that pollinates the yucca and survives on its nectar. That said the yucca plant will oftentimes not bloom unless this moth is present. The female yucca moth has special tentacles on the mouthparts with which it gathers and carries balls of pollen. The female yucca moth is the sole pollinator of the yucca and the yucca is the only caterpillar host plant of the yucca moth.

Each depends on the other for survival. The mutualism of the yucca moths and yucca plants is obligate in that the moth larvae feed only in yucca fruits and the latter can develop only from moth pollinated flowers. Without the yucca the moth would probably die and without the moth the yucca would not naturally produce seed. Yucca flowers in britain do not produce seeds because there are no yucca moths.

Without the yucca moth the yucca plant would lose its only pollinator and without the plant the moth would lose its food source. In places where there are no yucca moths the plant must be hand pollinated. When grown indoors yucca plants are excellent air purifiers. The yucca moth is well known for its co dependant relationship with the yucca plant.

Most yucca moths have white wings to blend in with the creamy blossoms of the yucca plants they pollinate. The yucca moth also commonly called the pronuba moth is a small white moth that lives in the semi arid habitats where yucca plants grow. The yucca moth is a non descript small whitish moth that blends well with the color of the yucca blossoms where it spends most of its brief adult life.