Basin wiki · Animals
Yucca moth
Tegeticula synthetica · Tegeticula antithetica
The small moth that pollinates Joshua trees; without it the trees do not set seed.
In the basin
Joshua trees and their yucca moths are a tight pair: the moth packs pollen and lays eggs in the flower, and the larvae eat some of the seeds. T. synthetica is the usual Joshua tree moth; T. antithetica is the other Mojave species on some stands. You will rarely notice the adult. The photo is a Tegeticula on a yucca flower, not a claim that every moth in the basin is synthetica. Wikipedia and the park’s Joshua tree page have the relationship.