Tecia solanivora

Tecia solanivora, the Central American potato tuberworm or Guatemalan potato moth, is a moth in the Gelechiidae family. It was described by Povolný in 1973. It is found from Guatemala, through Central America (Costa Rica, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, Panama) to South America,^[1] where it has been recorded from Colombia, Ecuador, Venezuela and Peru. It has also been introduced on the Canary Islands and mainland Spain.^[2]

The wingspan is 9–10 mm for males and 13 mm for females. Adult females are bright brown, with three marks and bright brown longitudinal lines on the forewings. Males are dark brown with two marks on the forewings and scarcely visible longitudinal lines.

The larvae feed on Solanum tuberosum (potato). They enter tubers and feed on them, building galleries which may completely destroy the tuber. Full-grown larvae leave the tubers to pupate.^[3]

The Guatemalan potato moth, in sufficiently large infestations, has the capacity to become a harmful pest. If it is not entirely eradicated from a potato field, but allowed to infest some plants (up to around 20% in one study^[4]), the overall harvest will increase, and include an increased number of extremely large tubers.

A potato damaged by infestation of the Guatemalan potato moth

References