Joshua tree inflorescence with Yucca moth trap

An eastern Joshua tree (Yucca jaegeriana) inflorescence (flowers) with a Yucca moth (Tegeticula antithetica) trap. SBSC is studying the ecology of the eastern Yucca moth, which is the obligate pollinator of eastern Joshua trees, to determine how climate change affects the emergence of blossoms and eastern Yucca moth visitation. These species have co-evolved in a mutually beneficial relationship - they both rely on the other to reproduce and continue their life cycle. Photo courtesy of Kathryn Thomas, USGS, SBSC.