Tegeticual Yuccasella and Yucca Elata
The process in by which two organisms, flowering plants and insects from different kingdoms, interact with each other in a mutualistic and parasitic relationship is referred to as coevolution. There are many examples in which coevolution has occurred maintaining the diversity of our ecosystem. One of the most obvious and extraordinary examples of coevolution is the mutualistic relationship between the yucca moth and the yucca plant. A mutualistic relationship is where both organisms benefit from one another. The yucca plant and yucca moth both heavily rely on each other for survival. With out one the other would not exist. The mutualistic relationship between the yucca moths, Tegeticula Yuccasella, and the yucca plants, Yucca Elata, are known to be among the most apparent cases of coevolution between plants and insects (Pellmyr et al., 1996). The yucca moth and yucca plant are most common in dry regions. The yucca plants are usually found in the eastern hemisphere such as the southwestern United States and in Mexico. The yucca moths are usually found where the yucca plants grow. The Tegeticula Yuccasella is moth classified from the…show more content… When the female yucca moth lays her eggs she then goes to the stigma of the flower to remove the pollen and inserts it in the stigma of the yucca plant. This ensures the reproduction of the yucca plant and enough seeds to feed the larvae (Moisset, 1997). When the weather begins to change and the temperature begins to get moister and rain occurs the larvae will begin to drop and stay underground until the next spring to repeat the reproductive cycle once again. Even if the yucca plant were to not blossom a year because of the weather being too most, not dry enough, the yucca moths will not be extinct, they would still be around (Moisset, 1997). It is like they geographically programed to continue flying until they see a yucca