Tuta absoluta (Lepidoptera: Gelechiidae) ability to localize and develop on wild and cultivated solanaceous plant species

The tomato leafminer, Tuta absoluta (Lepidoptera: Gelechiidae), is a widespread invasive species damaging economically important cultivated solanaceous crop plants, including tomatoes and potatoes. Little is known about the ability of this microlepidoptera to encounter and develop on alternative wild and agricultural plant species. These plants could provide refuges and have to be identified for more efficient integrated management strategies. In the present study, we assessed the ability of T. absoluta to develop on wild (Solanum nigrum, Atropa belladonna, Datura stramonium) and cultivated (Solanum tuberosum) solanaceous plant species under laboratory conditions. Fitness tests were performed in Petri dishes by isolating single individuals with excised leaf from one of the host plants. We found that Solanum species allowed higher larval survivability and shorter development time (from egg to adult emergency) compared to the other plants. Two choice behavioral assays performed in flying tunnels (S. tuberosum versus another plant) revealed that adult distribution and female oviposition did not differ between Solanum species, which were preferred to the other tested plants. These results appeared to be consistent with survival rates and development times. Because larval survivability depends on the female’s oviposition choice, the hypothesis that host plant choice is influenced by plant volatile organic compounds has to be tested. It can be concluded that Solanum species remain the more suitable hosts for T. absoluta development among the tested plants. Other plant species could be opportunistically colonized with little incidence but care should be taken in these results as genetic variability in insects and plants, as well as plant physiological state, might have an impact on the pest survivabilty.