Hover-Worthy Facts:
- The Yucca Moth is a tiny, white insect with a giant superpower. It is the only creature that can pollinate the Yucca, which produces New Mexico’s famous state flower!
- Neither the plant nor the moth could survive without the other.
- They do not have normal digestive systems and never eat or drink. Their only goal during their short few weeks of life is to lay eggs and pollinate.
- A female moth uses her mouth tentacles to gather sticky pollen and roll it into a ball that can be three times the size of her own head!
- Most bugs pollinate plants by accident when brushing against them, but the Yucca Moth intentionally stuffs the pollen ball directly into the flower’s tube.
- They use their antennae to smell if another moth has already laid eggs in a bloom. If it’s full, they fly away so the future babies don’t compete to eat the Yucca seeds.
- If a moth gets greedy and lays too many eggs, the Yucca plant drops the flower completely, sacrificing it to ensure the remaining blossoms can survive.
- When the caterpillars finish eating their share of seeds, they wait for a rainy night to chew a hole, drop to the desert floor, and burrow into the dirt to cocoon.
PLANT PARTNER
LEARN MORE ABOUT ALL POLLINATORS:
High Desert Helpers is sponsored through the Trails+ Grant Program by the New Mexico Outdoor Recreation Division.
