Photo: The yucca plant, in flower.
The noble yucca plant has been useful to humans living in what is currently called “the American Southwest”.
What we might call it in the distant future, instead of “the American Southwest”, remains to be seen. But for now, it’s “the American Southwest”.
It’s actually mostly “Northwest” of Mexico, and “Northeast” of Hawaii. But we’re going to stick with “Southwest”.
Probably, the yucca plant doesn’t care what geographic name we use. Nor does the yucca moth. The main thing the yucca moth cares about is reproduction.
It’s only right that we humans, who for centuries have been enjoying the many uses of the yucca plant — for food, for making rope, for shampoo — should feel a deep appreciation for the yucca moth.
The yucca plant has only one pollinator, the yucca moth. And the yucca moth has only one food source, the yucca plant.
This is called obligate mutualism. This plant, and this moth, cannot reproduce without one another, and their interdependence has existed for over 40 million years. It’s a fascinating story, from which humans could learn a thing or two.
The yucca moth cocoons underground, near a yucca plant. When the yucca plant blossoms in spring, it releases a sweet scent into the air.
Sensing the yucca’s fragrance, the moth stirs… breaking from its cocoon and flying towards the yucca flower.
The yucca’s sweet fragrance is strongest at night, which is typically when the nocturnal male and female yucca moth meet inside a yucca flower. I will not describe in detail what happens there, because this is a family-friendly publication. But you can imagine. Just one word: “romance”.
Now the pregnant female goes to work. She gathers pollen from inside a yucca flower, tucks it under her chin, and flies off to a different yucca flower (thus ensuring ‘cross pollination’.)
Incidentally, she has forgotten all about the male yucca moth at this point.
Which is just as well. She has work to do.
Knowing that her children will need food — that food being the future yucca seeds that her pollination efforts will help produce — she carefully spreads the collected pollen on the flower’s stigma — the top of the tube that leads to the ovary.
It’s the only way the yucca plants get pollinated.
Here’s a short video by Christopher Smith showing a female yucca moth spreading pollen on a yucca plant stigma to encourage seed growth. Food for her future hungry children.
The mother then lays a few eggs inside the plant’s ovary. Not too many eggs… just the right amount of eggs so that her babies have enough to eat, but the plant still has seeds remaining to reproduce as well. No reason to be greedy.
Apparently, the yucca moth (Tegeticulla yuccasella) is more intelligent than my fellow humans (homo sapiens).
Or at least, less greedy.
And more loyal. The moth is completely loyal to the yucca plant and its reproductive needs. It pollinates only yucca plants, and no other plants. Period.
If only my ex-wife had been so loyal.
During the late 1800s, the Russian prince named Peter Kropotkin made an extensive study of the Russian tundra, and learned through observation that the species which thrived were those who had built “mutually beneficial” relationships.
Life on the tundra was not the “dog eat dog” world the Darwinists were describing in the 19th century. Far from eating each other, the wild dogs actually worked cooperatively to kill their prey in a mutually beneficial manner. Even the prey they killed was done in a such way as to ensure the prey species’ overall health.
He dubbed this natural phenomenon “mutual aid” and published a book in 1902 titled, Mutual Aid: A Factor of Evolution.
It’s the kind of thing that can allow your species to thrive for 40 million years.
Not that I will live that long, but it’s a nice thought.
Except for one little detail.
I didn’t mention the fate of the male Tegeticulla yuccasella. After mating, he quickly starves to death. So obviously, this whole “obligate mutualism” scheme still has a few bugs that need to be worked out.
40 million years later.
Underrated writer Louis Cannon grew up in the vast American West, although his ex-wife, given the slightest opportunity, will deny that he ever grew up at all. You can read more stories on his Substack account.