The yucca plant and the moth

Wording of this Handout:

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There is a plant called a yucca plant, and a moth called a yucca moth. This is the story of how they work together.

If you visit Mexico some time you may see a plant with large green leaves and a long stalk covered in flowers. This is the yucca plant, and when it is in flower an amazing event takes place.

A moth comes to collect the pollen.

This may not seem very remarkable, but the fact is, the moth is the only insect that pollinates this plant.

The moth collects the pollen and gathers it into a ball, then in flies to another yucca plant and places the ball in the middle of the flower. But before she does this, she lays some eggs.

Then she begins to carefully gather the pollen from this new flower and flies off to the next one. She repeats this work at - every flower.

When the grubs hatch out inside the flower, they eat some of the seeds, then they chew their way out and drop to the ground on delicate threads. The holes the grubs leave makes it easier for the yucca seeds to escape.

Once on the ground the grubs burrow into the soil and spin cocoons. They come out as moths when Spring arrives, and start the whole process all over again.

But how do the flowers and the moths know when to get moving? And why do the grubs eat only yucca seeds?
And why is the yucca plant pollinated by only one moth?
And how does the moth know to collect pollen into a ball?
And why doesn't the moth lay her eggs in other plants?

Because God designed the moth and the plant, and made them so they would work together.