Bug FAQChaparral yucca moth
Tegeticula maculata · Order: Lepidoptera · Family: Prodoxidae
The chaparral yucca moth has a wingspan of about 16 to 23 mm. It lives in coastal chaparral and dry shrubby grasslands of central-southern California, the Sierra Nevada, north-western Arizona, and Baja California. Its larvae feed only on developing seeds of Hesperoyucca whipplei, and the moth is the plant’s sole pollinator.
Source: Wikipedia
How to recognize it
Tegeticula maculata belongs to the moth family Prodoxidae.
Source: Wikipedia
Size
Adults have a wingspan ranging from 16 mm to 23 mm.
Source: Wikipedia
Where it lives
It inhabits coastal chaparral and montane dry shrubby grassland.
Source: Wikipedia
What it eats
The larvae feed exclusively on the developing seeds of Hesperoyucca whipplei. The adult moth is the sole pollinator of Hesperoyucca whipplei.
Source: Wikipedia
Where it comes from
It is native to North America, found in central-southern California, the Sierra Nevada up to Fresno County, north-western Arizona, and from northern Baja California to the Vizcaino region.
Source: Wikipedia
Where it is found in the US
Recorded in 3 of 51 states and DC. Most records: California, Kansas, Utah.
Darker = more records. Counts are museum and citizen-science records, not population size.
Source: GBIF
Months it is reported in the US
Source: GBIF
More photos
Questions people ask
How big is the chaparral yucca moth?
Adults measure about 16 to 23 mm across the wings.
Source: Wikipedia
Where does the chaparral yucca moth live?
It lives in coastal chaparral and dry shrubby grasslands of central-southern California, the Sierra Nevada, north-western Arizona, and Baja California.
Source: Wikipedia
What does the chaparral yucca moth eat?
Its larvae feed only on the developing seeds of Hesperoyucca whipplei.
Source: Wikipedia
Same family (Prodoxidae)
Sources
- Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tegeticula_maculata
Look it up elsewhere: GBIF · iNaturalist · BugGuide · Wikipedia
Text written 2026-10-28 from the sources above and checked sentence by sentence against them. Data fetched 2026-10-28.