A yucca moth but which one? This individual is certainly one of the all white moths in the family Prodoxidae but there are several possibilities as to which one. One possibility is one of two species in the Tegeticula yuccasella complex (the true yucca moths). This species was recently reclassified as a complex of 11 closely related species, fortunately of which only two, T. yuccasella and T. intermedia, occur in the eastern U.S. outside of Florida. The other possibility is the closely related Prodoxus decipiens (Bogus Yucca Moth), also widespread in the eastern U.S. From what I can glean from some discussions on Bugguide, Prodoxus decipiens may be separated from the true yucca moths by the antenna--the basal half is white contrasting with the distal half which is black. If that is a good field character then my moth is one of the Tegeticula species. An interesting essay on the coevolution of the yucca moth and the yucca plant can be found here: prairieecologist/2010/12/08/the-yucca-and-its-moth/
Posted on: Tue, 24 Jun 2014 18:09:06 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015