First Record of Zelus obscuridorsis (Hemiptera: Reduviidae) as a Predator of the South American Tomato Leafminer, Tuta absoluta (Lepidoptera: Gelechiidae)

Abstract

The South American tomato leafminer Tuta absoluta (Meyrick) (Lepidoptera: Gelechiidae) is a Neotropical key pest of tomato in South America, and in recent years, it has become established in Europe and Africa. Recently we found the native true bug, Zelus obscuridorsis (Stål, 1860) (Hemiptera: Reduviidae), predating diverse mobile insects in household vegetable gardens located in northwestern Argentina. We found that Z. obscuridorsis preys on mobile stages of T. absoluta, i.e., free larvae and adults but not on larvae in their mines, pupae or eggs. This is the first record of a Zelus species as predator of T. absoluta. We discuss the importance of this predator consuming only mobile items, in terms of using little exploited host niches, and its possible relationships with other antagonistic species of T. absoluta.