Tegeticula synthetica

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Tegeticula synthetica
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Lepidoptera
Family: Prodoxidae
Genus: Tegeticula
Species:
T. synthetica
Binomial name
Tegeticula synthetica
(Riley, 1892)
Synonyms
  • Pronuba syntheticaRiley, 1892
  • Pronuba paradoxaTrelease, 1893
  • Tegeticula paradoxa [1]

Tegeticula synthetica is a moth of the family Prodoxidae. It is found in the United States in the Mojave Desert in southern Nevada, south-eastern California and from south-western Utah to north-western Arizona. The habitat consists of desert areas.

The wingspan is 17–21 mm. [2]

The larvae feed on Yucca brevifolia . They feed on developing seeds.

Related Research Articles

<i>Yucca brevifolia</i> Species of plant

Yucca brevifolia is a plant species belonging to the genus Yucca. It is tree-like in habit, which is reflected in its common names.

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 various species of "yucca moths".

<i>Yucca filamentosa</i> Species of flowering plant

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 3 metres tall, it is an evergreen shrub valued in horticulture.

<i>Tegeticula</i> Genus of moths

Tegeticula is a genus of moths of the family Prodoxidae, one of three genera known as yucca moths; they are mutualistic pollinators of various Yucca and Hesperoyucca species.

Tegeticula tehuacana is a moth of the family Prodoxidae. It is found in Mexico in Oaxaca, western- and south-western Veracruz, and central-northern Puebla centred on the Tehuacan Valley.

Tegeticula tambasi is a moth of the family Prodoxidae. It is found in Mexico from northern central San Luis Potosí south-east to Querétaro, and south-westward beyond Morelia, Michoacán.

Tegeticula maculata is a moth of the family Prodoxidae. It is found in North America in central-southern cismontane California, in the Sierra Nevada north to Fresno County, in north-western Arizona, and from Baja California Norte to the Vizcaino region. The habitat consists of coastal chaparral and montane dry shrubby grassland.

Tegeticula intermedia is a moth of the family Prodoxidae. Along with other moth species, it is commonly known as a yucca moth. T. intermedia lives in North America, particularly the United States. The moth resides in the southwest, the Great Plains, the Southeast, and mid-Atlantic. It also has been found much farther north in regions of Canada like Ontario and Alberta. There are also notable populations present in New Mexico. Their habitats are diverse and vary in terms of climate, landscape, and other factors. The moth lives in sand dunes, forests, glades, grassland, desert, and forests from the East Coast to the Southwest. Yucca moths have developed a strong mutualism with the yucca plant, such that both depend on each other for survival. The yucca moths and yucca plants have coevolved over millions of years. However, Tegeticula intermedia differs from most yucca moths in that it exhibits cheating behavior by laying eggs without pollinating the yucca plant.

Tegeticula carnerosanella is a moth of the family Prodoxidae. It is found from western Texas in the United States south to Mexico. The habitat consists of shrub desert.

Tegeticula maderae is a moth of the family Prodoxidae. It is found in south-eastern Arizona, United States. The habitat consists of pine-oak forests.

Tegeticula mojavella is a moth of the family Prodoxidae. It is found in the United States in the Mojave Desert, from southern Nevada and California south to the Mexican border. The habitat consists of bajadas and lower slopes of open desert.

Tegeticula altiplanella is a moth of the family Prodoxidae. It is found in the United States in the mountains and high plains of Colorado, southern Utah, northern Arizona and New Mexico. The habitat consists of high brush deserts, rock outcrops, volcanic tuff soils in open forests and high grassland.

Tegeticula baccatella is a moth of the family Prodoxidae. It is found in the United States in Arizona and New Mexico and adjacent regions of California, Nevada, Utah and Colorado. It is also found in western Texas. The habitat consists of shrub desert, rocky hillsides and open pine forests with outcrops.

Tegeticula rostratella is a moth of the family Prodoxidae. It is found in the Big Bend region of the United States, south to the Mapimí region in southern Coahuila in Mexico. The habitat consists of scrub desert.

Tegeticula superficiella is a moth of the family Prodoxidae. It is found in the United States in south-western Utah and northern Arizona. The habitat consists of shrub desert and open pine forests.

Tegeticula elatella is a moth of the family Prodoxidae. It is found in the United States in western Texas, from the Big Bend region through southern New Mexico to south-eastern Arizona and the Verde Valley of central Arizona. The habitat consists of grassland and shrub desert.

Tegeticula corruptrix is a moth of the family Prodoxidae. It is found in North America in south-western California, Arizona, New Mexico, northern Coahuila, western and southern Texas, Colorado, Alberta, the western plains of Nebraska, Wyoming and Montana. The habitat consists of grassland, shrub desert, rocky hillsides, open pine forests and shrubby grassland.

Tegeticula cassandra is a moth of the family Prodoxidae. It is found in the United States in north-central Florida and bordering areas of Georgia. The habitat consists of open pine and pine-oak forests and open grassy areas with oak scrub.

Tegeticula antithetica is a species of moth in the family Prodoxidae. It is found in the Mojave Desert of the North American southwest, specifically southern California, southern Nevada, southwestern Utah, and western Arizona.

<i>Yucca flaccida</i> Species of flowering plant

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 the Atlantic seaboard in Virginia, south through Florida and the Gulf states. Its natural habitat is in sandy open woodlands and fields. It is not considered to be threatened by the IUCN.

References

  1. Davis, Donald R. 1967. "A Revision of the Moths of the Subfamily Prodoxinae (Lepidoptera: Incurvariidae)." Bulletin of the United States National Museum. 1–170, 155 figures, 3 tables, 17 maps, 3 diagrams. https://doi.org/10.5479
  2. TOLweb