''Tegeticula antithetica'' is a species of moth in the family Prodoxidae. It is found in the Mojave Desert of the North American southwest, specifically southern California, southern Nevada, southwestern Utah, and western Arizona. The larvae feed on '' Yucca brevifolia''. Most ''Tegeticula'' species, including ''T. antithetica'', are monophagous, and the adult moths only live for a few days, so they must access the plant during the short flowering period. This indicates that moth populations would have to be locally adapted for the flowering periods their specific hosts. Godsoe, ''et al''. (2008) presented convincing evidence for coevolution of '' Tegeticula synthetica'' and ''Tegeticula antithetica'' by showing the exclusive relationship between the two species and their respective populations of ''Yucca brevifolia'', with ''antithetica'' being limited to ''Y. brevifolia'' var. ''jaegeriana''. Perhaps most importantly, Godsoe ''et al.'' showed that only the reproductive features of the moths and plants have been evolving—ovipositor length and floral characters, respectively—and not body size or vegetative features, respectively. This indicates that only reciprocal sexual selection, and not extrinsic forces (such as climate, etc.), has been acting on the evolution of the two species.

References

Moths described in 2003 Prodoxidae {{Incurvarioidea-stub