**2. Origin, morphology, and taxonomic position**

*T. absoluta* originated in the Peruvian Central highlands from where it spread to other areas of Peru and then to the rest of Latin American countries during the 1960s [3]. TLM is small moth with body length of 5–7 mm and wingspan of 10–14 mm [8]. The moth has silvery-gray scales and black spots on the forewings. The antennae are long, filiform with black and brown scales (**Figure 1**). Shashank et al. [9] described the male and female genitalia as well as the pupal genital aperture as useful distinguishing character for sexing of the moth. Egg is small (0.36 mm long and 0.22 mm wide) with elliptical shape and creamy white to bright yellow color. Larva is whitish in first instar (0.9 mm long) and becomes greenish or light pink in the second and fourth instar (7.5 mm). Pupa is obtect with greenish coloration at first, turning to chestnut brown and dark brown near adult emergence [8] (**Figure 2**). Tabuloc et al. [10] studies the genome of *T. absoluta* to generate and design a panel of 21 SNP markers for the species identification instead of depending only on morphological identification and symptoms of damage on the host plants.

*Tuta absoluta* was originally described as *Phthorimaea absoluta* (Meyrick, 1917) in Peruvian Andes. The genus was changed to *Gnorimoschema* [11] and then to Scrobipalpula [12] and Scrobipalpuloides [13]. Povolny [14] corrected the currently

**79**

Tuta absoluta *(Meyrick) (Lepidoptera: Gelechiidae): An Invasive Insect Pest Threatening…*

used name *Tuta absoluta*. The EPPO code and phytosanitary categorization for *T. absoluta* are GNORAB and EPP A1 action list no. 321, respectively [8].

*Larva (top) and pupa (bottom) of Tuta absoluta (photo: Antonio Biondi).*

The TLM has a complete metamorphosis type of reproduction, where it undergoes through four developmental stages, namely, egg, larva, pupa, and adult (**Figure 3**). Adults are nocturnal and hide between host leaves during the day. The female starts to release a sex pheromone 1–2 days after emergence to lure males for mating. The female sex pheromone is a mixture of tetradecatrienyl acetate and tetradecadienyl acetate in a ratio of 10:1, respectively [15, 16]. TLM is known to have multiple mating and the average number of mating per female is about 10.4. Both sexes are polygamous with no refractory period. The female sometimes can exhibit deuterotoky parthenogenesis, which gives both females and males from unfertilized eggs [17]. Males use female sex pheromone to locate females and mating can last from few minutes to 6 hours. Female uses plant volatiles (kairomones) and leaf contact for oviposition. A single female can lay as many as 260 eggs during its life cycle, which may extend to 3 months [18]. About 92% of the total eggs are laid in the 1–3 days following mating [8]. Eggs are laid singly on the upper part of the plant (young leaves, stems, and sepals). The eggs hatch in 5–7 days depending on temperature and relative humidity. After hatching, the larvae go through four instars, which are completed in about 20 days. The mature larva then gets rid of all gut materials, constructs a silken cocoon, and turns into pre-pupa and pupa. Pupation may last for 10–11 days before adult emergence for female and male, respectively. Mature larvae leave the mines and build silken cocoon on the leaflet or in the soil. When pupation occurs in the mines or tomato fruit, the pre-pupa does not build cocoon. Adult longevity may extend for 30–40 days [8]. The whole life cycle of the moth is completed in 29–38 days, depending on the environmental conditions (**Figure 3**). Moreover, about 10–12 generation

*DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.93390*

**3. Biology and bionomics**

**Figure 2.**

**Figure 1.** *Adult moth of tomato leafminer, Tuta absoluta (photo: Antonio Biondi).*

Tuta absoluta *(Meyrick) (Lepidoptera: Gelechiidae): An Invasive Insect Pest Threatening… DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.93390*

**Figure 2.** *Larva (top) and pupa (bottom) of Tuta absoluta (photo: Antonio Biondi).*

used name *Tuta absoluta*. The EPPO code and phytosanitary categorization for *T. absoluta* are GNORAB and EPP A1 action list no. 321, respectively [8].
