Scientific Name: Tuta absoluta

Describer: Meyrick

Common Name: Tomato leaf miner

Title: Tuta absoluta: new distribution and detection

Summary:

Significance: Tuta absoluta is a significant pest of Solanum lycopersicum (tomato) and other economically important solanaceous plants, such as Solanum tuberosum (potato) and Capsicum annuum (pepper), and has also been found on Phaseolus vulgaris (bean) (CABI, 2018; EPPO, 2005, 2009).

Tuta absoluta has been highlighted in previous NAPPO-PAS Pest Alerts:
http://www.pestalert.org/viewNewsAlert.cfm?naid=91
http://www.pestalert.org/viewNewsAlert.cfm?naid=78 
http://www.pestalert.org/viewNewsAlert.cfm?naid=57

Issues of Concern: Tuta absoluta is native to South America and has been widely reported from parts of Central America, Europe, Africa, and the Middle East (CABI, 2018). It is not known to occur in the United States, Canada, or Mexico. Most recently, T. absoluta has been reported infesting tomato plants in Kyrgyzstan (Esenali Uulu et al., 2017), Ghana (IPPC, 2017), and Tajikistan (Saidov et al., 2018). This is the first detection of T. absoluta in these three countries. In 2017, T. absoluta was found infesting greenhouse-grown tomato plants in Norway. This is the first detection of T. absoluta in Norway. Phytosanitary measures have been implemented in an effort to prevent its spread. (EPPO, 2017; VKM, 2017).

References:

CABI. 2018. Tuta absoluta. In: Invasive Species Compendium. Wallingford, UK: CAB International. www.cabi.org/isc.

EPPO. 2005. Data sheets on quarantine pests: Tuta absoluta. EPPO Bulletin, 35(3), 434-435. European and Mediterranean Plant Protection Organization (EPPO). https://www.eppo.int/QUARANTINE/data_sheets/insects/DS_Tuta_absoluta.pdf

EPPO. 2009. Tuta absoluta found on Phaseolus vulgaris in Sicilia (IT) (2009/154). EPPO Reporting Service, 8, 3. Paris: European and Mediterranean Plant Protection Organization (EPPO). https://archives.eppo.int/EPPOReporting/2009/Rse-0908.pdf

EPPO. 2017. First report of Tuta absoluta in Norway. European and Mediterranean Plant Protection Organization (EPPO). October 1, 2017. http://archives.eppo.int/EPPOReporting/2017/Rse-1710.pdf.

Esenali Uulu, T., M. R. Ulusoy, and A. F. Çal??kan. 2017. First record of tomato leafminer Tuta absoluta Meyrick (Lepidoptera: Gelechiidae) in Kyrgyzstan. EPPO Bulletin DOI: 10.1111/epp.12390. http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/epp.12390/full

IPPC. 2017. Report on tomato leafminer (Tuta absoluta). International Plant Protection Convention (IPPC) pest report. July 27, 2017. https://www.ippc.int/en/countries/ghana/pestreports/2017/07/report-on-tomato-leaf-miner-tuta-absoluta/.

Saidov, N., R. Srinivasan, R. Mavlyanova, and Z. Qurbonov. 2018. First report of invasive South American tomato leaf miner Tuta absoluta (Meyrick) (Lepidoptera: Gelechiidae) in Tajikistan. Florida Entomologist 101(1):147-149. http://www.bioone.org/doi/abs/10.1653/024.101.0129.

VKM. 2017. Tuta absoluta will probably cause damage to the Norwegian tomato industry. Scientific Opinion of the Panel on Plant Health of the Norwegian Scientific Committee for Food Safety [Vitenskapskomiteen for mattrygghet (VKM)]. https://www.vkm.no/english/riskassessments/allpublications/tutaabsolutawillprobablycausedamagetothenorwegiantomatoindustry.4.33bc233f15dabfdfa88bd5d5.html.