Species identification and sibship assignment of sympatric larvae in the yucca moths Tegeticula synthetica and Tegeticula antithetica (Lepidoptera: Prodoxidae)

Ecological interactions between yucca moths ( Tegeticula , Prodoxidae) and their host plants ( Yucca , Agavaceae) are exemplary of obligate plant–pollinator mutualism and co‐evolution. We describe a multiplex microsatellite DNA protocol for species identification and sibship assignment of sympatric larvae from Tegeticula synthetica and Tegeticula antithetica , pollinators of the Joshua tree ( Yucca brevifolia ). Bayesian clustering provides correct diagnosis of species in 100% of adult moths, with unambiguous identification of sympatric larvae. Sibship assignments show that larvae within a single fruit are more likely to be full‐sibs or half‐sibs than larvae from different fruit, consistent with the hypothesis that larval clutches are predominantly the progeny of an individual female.