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For Insects, Spiders & Their Kin
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Photo#131603
small white grub

small white grub
Apollo, armstrong County, Pennsylvania, USA
July 28, 2007
Size: about 7mm
We are finding these little guys inside yucca seed pods, and were wondering what they are.

Images of this individual: tag all
small white grub small white grub

Moved
Moved from Moths.

Moved
Moved from Yucca moth.

Moved
Moved from Butterflies and Moths. I don't think there's anything else these could be. Female yucca moths insert their eggs in the ovaries of yucca flowers, and the larvae feed on the developing seeds inside the pod--so that's how they get there without any entrance holes. The plant is pretty much (or completely?) dependent on the female for pollination, and most pods should have some of these larvae inside--unless the females are doing some pro bono pollination.

Moved
Moved from Moths.

The newest image is one about
The newest image is one about 11mm in length. Much more robust than the first one. Hopefully this one will help to ID.

I was looking on another site
I was looking on another site and came across "yucca moths". Could this be a moth larva?

 
I was thinking the same thing
I was thinking the same thing. I know that the larvae of Yucca moths are white like the adults so it very well could be since I don't know of any other moths that feed on Yucca plants.

Also if I'm not mistake the larvae eat the inside of the seed pods. The more I think about it the more it makes sense because you said that you found them inside the pods right?

Would like to know either way. But I'm sure these are Yucca moth larvae.