Tegeticula corruptrix

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.[1][2] The habitat consists of grassland, shrub desert, rocky hillsides, open pine forests and shrubby grassland.

Tegeticula corruptrix
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Lepidoptera
Family:	Prodoxidae
Genus:	Tegeticula
Species:	T. corruptrix
Binomial name
Tegeticula corruptrix Pellmyr, 1999

The wingspan is 22.5–35 mm (0.89–1.38 in). The forewings are white or sometimes tan colored. The hindwings are usually uniformly dark brown.[3]

The larvae feed on Yucca baccata, Yucca treculeana, Yucca torreyi, Yucca schidigera, Yucca glauca, Yucca baileyi, Yucca elata and Yucca verdiensis. They feed on developing seeds. Pupation takes place in a cocoon in the soil.

This species was called a "cheater" by its original describer because it lays eggs in the developing seeds and fruits of yucca plants without pollinating the flowers, unlike other yucca moths.[4]

References

1. Government of Canada, Public Services and Procurement Canada. "Information archivée dans le Web" (PDF). publications.gc.ca. Retrieved 2019-09-18.
2. "Tegeticula corruptrix". tolweb.org. Retrieved 2019-09-18.
3. TOLweb
4. Pellmyr, Olle (1999). "Systematic revision of the yucca moths in the Tegeticula yuccasella complex (Lepidoptera: Prodoxidae) north of Mexico". Systematic Entomology. 24 (3): 243–271. doi:10.1046/j.1365-3113.1999.00079.x.