First Report Using a Native Lacewing Species to Control : From Laboratory Trials to Field Assessment.

The South American tomato pinworm, (Meyrick) (Lepidoptera: Gelechiidae), a destructive pest on tomato, has invaded most Afro-Eurasian countries. Recently invaded by the pest, most tomato crops in greenhouses and open fields in Tajikistan are currently suffering major damage. While failure in management using chemical insecticide has been frequently observed, alternative options such as biological control is urgently needed. In this study, we evaluated the effectiveness of the common green lacewing (Stephens) (Neuroptera: Chrysopidae) against . In controlled laboratory conditions, showed high predation rate on both eggs (i.e., 36 ± 2 eggs within 24 h and 72 ± 4 eggs within 48 h) and larvae, especially it can attack the larvae both inside and outside the leaf galleries (i.e., an average of 22% of the larvae was killed inside, and an average of 35% was killed outside). In a cage exclusion experiment, showed relatively low larval density in the cages with pre-fruiting release of , whereas the larval density was four to six times higher in the "no release" cages. In the "post-fruiting release" cages, the pest population that had already built up during the pre-fruiting stage eventually crashed. In an open-field experiment, the tomato crops in control plots were fully destroyed, whereas low levels of larvae density and damage were observed in the biocontrol plots. Moreover, the field release of resulted in significantly higher tomato yield than those without release, despite no differences between the "pre-fruiting release" and "post-fruiting release" treatments. We conclude that the local commercial biocontrol agent could be promising for the management of in Tajikistan. It is also one of the first reports showing the management of using a lacewing species. The effectiveness should be validated by further field trials in larger area of commercial crops and various locations.