''Tegeticula yuccasella'', the yucca moth, is a

moth Moths are a paraphyletic group of insects that includes all members of the order Lepidoptera that are not butterflies, with moths making up the vast majority of the order. There are thought to be approximately 160,000 species of moth, many of w ...

of the family

Prodoxidae The Prodoxidae are a family of moths, generally small in size and nondescript in appearance. They include species of moderate pest status, such as the currant shoot borer, and others of considerable ecological and evolutionary interest, such as ...

. The species was first described by

Charles Valentine Riley Charles Valentine Riley (18 September 1843 – 14 September 1895) was a British-born American entomologist and artist. He was one of the first individuals to use biological pest control and authored over 2,400 publications. He convinced Congress ...

in 1872. It can be found in North America from

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2020, it is the second-largest U.S. state by ...

to southern

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

. The

wingspan The wingspan (or just span) of a bird or an airplane is the distance from one wingtip to the other wingtip. For example, the Boeing 777–200 has a wingspan of , and a wandering albatross (''Diomedea exulans'') caught in 1965 had a wingspan o ...

is 18–27 mm. The forewings are wide and blunt, usually white but occasionally with more or less tan. The hindwings are medium to light brownish gray.Pellmyr, Oll
"''Tegeticula yuccasella'' (Riley)"
''Tree of Life Web Project''. Retrieved November 11, 2020. The larvae feed on ''

Yucca filamentosa ''Yucca filamentosa'', Adam’s needle and thread, is a species of flowering plant in the family Asparagaceae native to the southeastern United States. Growing to tall, it is an evergreen shrub valued in horticulture. Description Usually trun ...

'', ''

Yucca smalliana ''Yucca flaccida'', commonly called Adam's needle or weak-leaf yucca, is a species of flowering plant in the asparagus family (Asparagaceae). It is native to south-central and southeastern North America, from the lower Great Plains eastward to th ...

'', ''

Yucca flaccida ''Yucca flaccida'', commonly called Adam's needle or weak-leaf yucca, is a species of flowering plant in the asparagus family (Asparagaceae). It is native to south-central and southeastern North America, from the lower Great Plains eastward to th ...

'', ''

Yucca glauca ''Yucca glauca'' ( syn. ''Yucca angustifolia'') is a species of perennial evergreen plant, adapted to xeric (dry)growth conditions. It is also known as small soapweed, soapweed yucca, Spanish bayonet, and Great Plains yucca. ''Yucca glauca'' f ...

'', ''

Yucca arkansana ''Yucca arkansana'', the Arkansas yucca, is a plant in the family Asparagaceae, native to Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Missouri and Kansas. It generally grows in gravelly, sunlit locations such as rocky outcrops, prairies, etc. It is not considered ...

'', ''

Yucca constricta ''Yucca constricta'' known by the common name "Buckley's yucca,"Buckley. Philadelphia Academy of Natural Science Proceedings, 1862:8. 1863. is a plant in the family Asparagaceae. It is found in rocky limestone hills of central and eastern Texas, ...

'', ''

Yucca rupicola ''Yucca rupicola'' is a plant in the family Asparagaceae, known as the twistleaf yucca, twisted-leaf yucca, Texas yucca or twisted-leaf Spanish-dagger. The species was described by George Heinrich Adolf Scheele in 1850. This is a small, acaulesc ...

'', ''

Yucca pallida ''Yucca pallida'', sometimes called pale yucca, is a species of yucca native to Northern Mexico and parts of the blackland prairies of northern and central Texas, and notable for its light-colored leaves that range from a pale blue-gray to sage- ...

'', ''

Yucca reverchoni ''Yucca'' is a genus of perennial shrubs and trees in the family Asparagaceae Asparagaceae, known as the asparagus family, is a family of flowering plants, placed in the order Asparagales of the monocots. The family name is based on the edib ...

'' and ''

Yucca aloifolia ''Yucca aloifolia''Linnaeus, Species Plantarum 1: 319. 1753

''. They feed on developing seeds. Pupation takes place in a cocoon in the soil.

References

External links

* *Pellmyr, Oll
"Keys to species of the ''Tegeticula yuccasella'' complex"
''Tree of Life Web Project''. Retrieved November 11, 2020. Moths described in 1872 Prodoxidae {{Incurvarioidea-stub