yucca moth

yucca moth
any of several white moths of the genus Tegeticula that pollinate the yucca plant, the larvae of which develop in the ovary of the plant, consuming some of the seeds.
[1890-95]

* * *

▪ insect
 (genus Tegeticula), any of four species of insects of the Prodoxidae family of moths (order Lepidoptera). The adults are small, diurnal, and have tiny spines covering their wings.

      Each of the four species is adapted to a particular species of yucca. The moths emerge when the yucca flowers open. The female gathers pollen from one flower, rolls it into a ball, flies to another flower, lays four or five eggs, and inserts the pollen mass in the opening thus formed. The larvae eat about half the approximately 200 seeds produced by the plant. The yucca can be fertilized by no other insect, and the moth can utilize no other plant. Larvae of the related bogus yucca moth (Prodoxus) feed in the stems and seed capsules of the yucca plant and also attack the century plant.

* * *


Universalium. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Поможем написать курсовую

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Yucca moth — Yucca Yuc ca, n. [NL., from Yuca, its name in St. Domingo.] (Bot.) A genus of American liliaceous, sometimes arborescent, plants having long, pointed, and often rigid, leaves at the top of a more or less woody stem, and bearing a large panicle of …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • yucca moth — noun : any of several silvery tineoid moths (genus Tegeticula) the females of which carry pollen that fertilizes the flowers of the yucca causing the growth of a seed pod in which the larvae feed …   Useful english dictionary

  • Yucca — Yuc ca, n. [NL., from Yuca, its name in St. Domingo.] (Bot.) A genus of American liliaceous, sometimes arborescent, plants having long, pointed, and often rigid, leaves at the top of a more or less woody stem, and bearing a large panicle of showy …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Yucca aloifolia — Yucca Yuc ca, n. [NL., from Yuca, its name in St. Domingo.] (Bot.) A genus of American liliaceous, sometimes arborescent, plants having long, pointed, and often rigid, leaves at the top of a more or less woody stem, and bearing a large panicle of …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Yucca baccata — Yucca Yuc ca, n. [NL., from Yuca, its name in St. Domingo.] (Bot.) A genus of American liliaceous, sometimes arborescent, plants having long, pointed, and often rigid, leaves at the top of a more or less woody stem, and bearing a large panicle of …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Yucca filamentosa — Yucca Yuc ca, n. [NL., from Yuca, its name in St. Domingo.] (Bot.) A genus of American liliaceous, sometimes arborescent, plants having long, pointed, and often rigid, leaves at the top of a more or less woody stem, and bearing a large panicle of …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Yucca Treculiana — Yucca Yuc ca, n. [NL., from Yuca, its name in St. Domingo.] (Bot.) A genus of American liliaceous, sometimes arborescent, plants having long, pointed, and often rigid, leaves at the top of a more or less woody stem, and bearing a large panicle of …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Yucca filifera — Yucca filifera …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Yucca guatemalensis — Taxobox name = Yucca guatemalensis image width = 240px image caption = regnum = Plantae divisio = Magnoliophyta classis = Liliopsida ordo = Asparagales familia = Agavaceae genus = Yucca species = Y. guatemalensis binomial = Yucca guatemalensis… …   Wikipedia

  • yucca fertilizer — noun or yucca pollenizer : yucca moth …   Useful english dictionary

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
… Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”