How does the yucca protect its seeds?
By Chelsie Vandaveer
June 12, 2002
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There are an estimated 50 species of Yucca; all are native to North America ranging from Canada through Mexico and Guatemala. Yucca are pollinated by the yucca moth (Tegeticula yuccasella [Riley]), once thought to be a single variable species, but now are considered a complex of similar moths.
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Bees and hummingbirds visit yucca flowers, but these have little impact on the pollination. Yucca are nyctitropic, the flowers change when the sun sets. Nodding during daylight hours, the flowers turn upward after dark and most emit a fragrance. Yucca moths mate in a flower, often remaining through the following day.
After mating, the female collects pollen, rolling the sticky mass into a ball. After nightfall, she flies to another flower, pierces the ovary wall with her ovipositor and lays a few eggs. She packs some of the pollen ball into the openings of the stigma. The yucca seeds and her larvae will develop together in the ovary.
The larvae feed on the developing seeds, but more seeds are produced than the larvae can eat. With few larvae per ovary, only 20 to 25 percent of the seeds are eaten. When the larvae have matured, they eat through the wall and drop to the ground. They will pupate under the soil.
It appears there is a pheromone or scent-mark left on the flowers a female has visited. Females usually select virgin flowers (not pollinated). In those instances where several females laid many eggs in a single flower, the yucca aborts the flower. Neither the seeds nor moth larvae will develop. Although, the yucca loses seeds, this is thought to select against moths that fail to detect the scent-mark. A 'few eggs per flower' rule ensures that both yucca seeds and moth larvae survive.
The Tree of Life project has a great photograph of yucca moth in a flower. To view, click on the link:
Click here to view a yucca moth in a flower
killerPlants Tendrils: ~~1~~2~~3~~4~~5~~
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