D3415: Exploring the eastern Joshua tree (Yucca jaegariana) arthropod community

Eastern Joshua trees (Yucca jaegariana) are woody, arid-adapted yuccas endemic to the eastern Mojave Desert. Their pollination depends on a specialist moth (Tegeticula antithetica), which in turn requires the Joshua tree as a larval host plant. In addition to the pollinating moth, Joshua trees interact with a broad network of organisms, including small mammals that eat and disperse Joshua tree seeds, birds that use Joshua trees for nest habitat, and “bogus” moths (Prodoxus weethumpi) that consume Joshua tree fruit tissue without pollinating. In the spring of 2022 and 2023 we studied the phenology of the eastern Joshua tree in conjunction with their pollinating moth under varied environmental conditions. Our moth trapping also incidentally collected a wide variety of arthropods, which allowed us to address questions about the diversity of arthropods interacting with Joshua tree flowers. We recorded presence records of at least 38,000 individuals comprising 19 orders and at least 26 families of arthropods. We then compared our occurrence observations with simultaneous measurements of Joshua tree flowering status, temperature, and precipitation variables. In this poster, we present key findings for some of the most abundant orders collected (Thysanoptera, Diptera, Coleoptera, Hymenoptera, Lepidoptera, Hemiptera, and Neuroptera), and a few ecologically important taxa (Tegeticula antithetica and Prodoxus weethumpi).