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It is a moth, known colloquially as a "Yucca Moth"; scientifically "Prodoxidae".

I very recently watched David Attenborough's 'Life on Earth' series where this symbiotic relationship was featured.

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Why do the yucca plant and yucca moth live together?

The yucca plant and yucca moth have a mutualistic relationship where both species benefit. The yucca moth pollinates the yucca flowers and lays its eggs in the plant's ovaries. In return, the yucca moth larvae feed on the yucca seeds, ensuring their survival.


What is the common name of yucca brevifolia?

The common name of Yucca brevifolia is Joshua tree. It is a tree-like yucca plant native to the southwestern United States.


What animals eat a yucca plant?

There are a number of insects that eat the Yucca plant. These insects include Yucca weevils, Yucca moth, and mealybugs, as well as mites


What animal is a symbiotic relationship to a yucca?

It's a mutualistic relationship. The yucca plant (Mexico, Caribbean and Southern US) can't pollinate itself to grow more seeds. The yucca moth pollinates the plant and lays its eggs inside the plant. When the moth larvae hatch, they feed on the seeds of the yucca plant, but the plant only lets a certain number grow, so that they don't eat all the seeds. So by pollinating the plant, the moth develops food for its larvae and the plant as well as the moth can survive and continue. And the adult moths emerge from their underground cocoons exactly when the yucca plants are in flower, in early summer.


What is the difference between moth and a yucca moth?

The yucca moth is associated with the yucca, a flowering plant, mostly found in Mexico and the southwestern United States. When mature, yucca pollen grains form sticky masses, which pregnant female yucca moths collect with long appendages (called maxillary palpi) from their mouth region, form into balls, and transport. When ready to lay her eggs, she crawls into another flower, and lays her eggs inside of an ovary of the flower. She then climbs to the top of the ovary, and presses the pollen into the central stigmatic depression. In doing so, she ensures the pollination of the flower in which she has laid her egg. The germinating pollen grains fertilize hundreds of immature seeds inside of the plant, some of which will provide food for the larvae as it matures. Both the yucca plant and moth are dependent on this pollination regime for survival.