First report and distribution of the South American tomato pinworm, Tuta absoluta (Meyrick) (Lepidoptera: Gelechiidae) in Togo

The South American tomato pinworm, Tuta absoluta (Meyrick) (Lepidoptera: Gelechiidae) first invaded Africa in 2008. Since then, the pest has been causing considerable losses to tomatoes across the continent, thereby affecting food security and livelihood of millions of growers and consumers. In this paper, the agroecological-based occurrence of the alien invasive species was reported for the first time in Togo. Fifteen sites were surveyed countywide in the five regions of the country from November 2018 to February 2019. Male moths were trapped using pheromone-based delta traps, and the larvae were collected through sampling of infested tomato leaves and fruits. The field-collected and laboratory-emerged specimens were used for the morphological features and molecular analysis and sequence deposit into GenBank under the accession number MN759250. The pest was present in all regions and sites surveyed across different agro-ecological zones, with significant disparities between agroecologies in relation to population densities. The daily as well as the cumulative catches of T. absoluta male moths was higher in the Coastal Savannah zone than in other agro-ecological zones surveyed, with a daily mean value of 10.78 ± 0.99 individuals per trap. This study is the first report confirming the geo-occurrence of T. absoluta in Togo and represents a baseline for further studies.