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Tegeticula yuccasella (Riley, 1873)
Eastern Yucca Moth
White Yucca Moth
Florida native
Eastern yucca moths can be found east of the Rocky Mountains in much of the United States and into southern-most Canada. Of the various yucca moths, Tegeticula yuccasella is the only species that is found in Florida.
The yucca moth has a symbiotic relationship with yucca plants. The female moth visits a yucca flower and collects pollen under her 'chin'. She then visits another yucca flower, deposits her eggs in the flower's ovary, then places the pollen that she caried onto the stigma of the flower, improving the chances that the fruit will develop to feed her larvae.
The species Tegeticula yuccasella has recently been considered a complex of more than a dozen separate species. Two of these are non-pollinating 'cheater yucca moths', laying their eggs but not going to the trouble of intentionally pollinating the flowers.
The photograph in this post is a greater than life-size model of a yucca moth on a yucca flower that was photographed at the US Botanical Garden at the Smithsonian in Washington, DC as part of their holiday model train display. The moth and flower model was made entirely from plant materials: palm fiber, horse chestnut, driftwood, iris fruit and buckeyes.
Tegeticula yuccasella is a member of the Prodoxidae - Yucca Moths and Allies family.
iNaturalist profile for this species
For more information on this species, visit the following link:
Bugguide.net page for this species
Date record last modified: Oct 16, 2025
