Geocoris punctipes nymphs and adults easily prey on leaf-mining larvae of Tuta absoluta on tomato

The tomato borer Tuta absoluta (Meyrick) is quickly developing into a serious, worldwide pest of tomato. Its larvae penetrate to the mesophyll, resulting in mines in the leaves. Larvae also can attack the stem and fruits, and, thus, tomato yields can be completely lost if no control methods are used. Rapid development of resistance to frequently applied pesticides necessitates a search for alternative control methods, such as biological control. Here we present quantitative results of predation of larvae of T. absoluta by nymphs and adults of Geocoris punctipes (Say). All five nymphal instars of the predator G. punctipes detect, attack and consume 1^st larval instars of T. absoluta. The 1^st nymphal instar of the predator consumes on average 4 prey larvae, while the 5^th nymphal instar consumes more than 10 prey larvae per day. Male and female adult predators are able to detect and attack all four larval instars of the pest, and on average 2 (4^th larval instar) to 13 (1^st larval instar) can be attacked per day. Females kill more prey than males. These predation results are promising, because they show that G. punctipes nymphs and adults consume large numbers of larvae and can contribute to a considerable reduction of larval pest populations Thus, this predator might be a potential candidate for augmentative biological control of T. absoluta.