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Major Tomato Pests and Damage Symptoms ─ A Global Overview ​

Overview of Pest Damage in Tomato ​

Tomato is widely cultivated around the world and is a crop highly susceptible to damage from a wide variety of pests. These pests cause damage to various plant parts including leaves, stems, and fruits, leading to reduced quality and yield, and in some cases, devastating losses. The following provides a detailed description of the major tomato pests recognized across regions and growing environments, along with their characteristic damage symptoms. Pests that are particularly problematic in specific regions or environments are also supplemented where appropriate.

Major Pests Causing Significant Damage to Leaves, Stems, and Fruits ​

Tomato Leaf Miner Phthorimaea absoluta ​

  • Damage: Larvae feed inside leaves, buds, flowers, and fruits, causing serpentine feeding trails and browning on leaves. Fruits are excavated, greatly reducing marketability. Yield losses exceeding 80% have been reported under uncontrolled conditions.
  • Distribution & Characteristics: Originally from South America, now spreading to Europe, Asia, Africa, and Central/South America. Severe in warm regions [1][2][3][4][5][6].

Tomato Hornworm Manduca sexta / Manduca quinquemaculata ​

  • Damage: Large larvae intensively feed on leaves, sometimes to the point of complete defoliation. May also cause shallow wounds on fruit surfaces. Their voracious appetite can cause devastating damage in a short period.
  • Distribution & Characteristics: Common in the Americas, also recognized in Japan and Asia. Occurs in both open-field and greenhouse settings [6][7][8][9][10].

Cutworms / Armyworms Spodoptera spp. ​

  • Damage: Cut seedlings and young stems at soil level (seedling toppling), feed on leaves and small fruits. Damage is particularly severe during transplanting and seedling stages.
  • Distribution & Characteristics: Widely distributed from temperate to tropical regions [6][11].

Tomato Pinworm Keiferia lycopersicella ​

  • Damage: Larvae roll or tie leaves together while feeding, and also bore into fruit interiors. Feeding areas turn white and die.
  • Distribution & Characteristics: Warm regions of North America, Asia, etc.; primarily severe in greenhouses [11].

Sap-Sucking Pests That Inhibit Nutrient Absorption and Transmit Viruses ​

Aphids (Cotton Aphid, Green Peach Aphid, etc.) Aphis gossypii, Macrosiphum euphorbiae, Myzus persicae ​

  • Damage: Colonize leaves and stems for sap-sucking, causing leaf curling and yellowing. Excretions (honeydew) promote sooty mold development. Vectors for multiple viruses.
  • Distribution & Characteristics: Occur worldwide; require attention in both open-field and greenhouse settings [7][8][9][10][11].

Whiteflies Bemisia tabaci, Trialeurodes vaporariorum ​

  • Damage: Infest undersides of leaves for sap-sucking, causing yellowing, leaf drop, and growth retardation. Major vectors of viral diseases such as Tomato yellow leaf curl virus (TYLCV).
  • Distribution & Characteristics: Extremely important in greenhouses and warm-region open fields. Monitored closely in Japan, Asia, and Mediterranean regions [7][8][11].

Leafminers Liriomyza spp. ​

  • Damage: Larvae create white serpentine feeding trails inside leaves. Reduces photosynthetic capacity and provides entry points for pathogens.
  • Distribution & Characteristics: Globally distributed; also significant in greenhouse cultivation [7][11].

Tomato Russet Mite Aculops lycopersici ​

  • Damage: Stems and leaf surfaces become rusty brown, causing defoliation and reduced plant vigor. Severe infestations can result in plant death.
  • Distribution & Characteristics: Frequently occurs in greenhouses and dry warm regions; an important pest in Japan [7][8][9].

Thrips Frankliniella occidentalis, Thrips tabaci (Western Flower Thrips, etc.) ​

  • Damage: Feed on soft new shoots and flowers, causing deformation of leaves and flowers, and scarring on fruit surfaces. Important vectors of Tomato spotted wilt virus (TSWV) and other viruses.
  • Distribution & Characteristics: Globally distributed; major outbreaks reported in Japan [8][10][11].

Spider Mites Tetranychus urticae (Two-Spotted Spider Mite, etc.) ​

  • Damage: Sap-sucking on leaves causes yellowing and stippling; severe infestations lead to browning and leaf drop. Produce characteristic webbing.
  • Distribution & Characteristics: Significant damage under dry, high-temperature conditions and in greenhouses [7][8][9][11].

Region- and Condition-Specific Pests and Other Important Pests ​

Colorado Potato Beetle Leptinotarsa decemlineata ​

  • Damage: Larvae and adults in groups can completely defoliate plants. Causes growth retardation and yield reduction.
  • Distribution & Characteristics: Originally from North America, now expanded to Europe and northern Asia [11].

Flea Beetles Epitrix spp. ​

  • Damage: Create numerous small circular holes in leaves (shothole symptoms). Can inhibit seedling growth and induce damping-off.
  • Distribution & Characteristics: Frequently occurs in open-field cultivation in temperate to subtropical regions [8][11].

Stink Bugs (Pentatomidae) ​

  • Damage: Piercing wounds on fruits cause whitish discoloration, deformation, and flesh damage. Reduces marketability.
  • Distribution & Characteristics: Occur in many regions; particularly notable in open-field cultivation [7][11].

Wireworms (Click Beetle Larvae) ​

  • Damage: Feed on roots and underground stems in the soil, causing seedling death, wilting, and plant death.
  • Distribution & Characteristics: Worldwide; primarily soil-borne damage in open fields [7][8].

Tomato/Potato Psyllid Bactericera cockerelli ​

  • Damage: Sap-sucking induces "psyllid yellows" ─ leaf yellowing, upward curling, stunted growth, and deformed fruits. Can also cause pseudo-bacterial disease symptoms.
  • Distribution & Characteristics: Problematic in North America, Central/South America, and New Zealand. Some expansion to Asia and other regions [11].

Vegetable Leafminers, Potato Moth, etc. (Region-Specific) ​

  • In some tropical to subtropical areas of Asia and Africa, damage from these pests is considered particularly important [6][7][9][10].

Summary of Occurrence Trends by Region and Environment ​

  • Greenhouse cultivation: Notable occurrence of whiteflies, russet mites, leafminers, aphids, and thrips [7][8][9][10][11].
  • Open-field cultivation / Temperate regions: Armyworms, flea beetles, hornworms, Colorado potato beetle, etc.
  • Tropical / Subtropical regions: Internal-feeding and emerging pests such as pinworms and leafminers are severe.
  • Due to global trade and climate change, many major pests pose a risk of occurrence regardless of region.

References ​

[1] Phthorimaea absoluta (tomato leafminer) - CABI Digital Library: https://www.cabidigitallibrary.org/doi/full/10.1079/cabicompendium.49260
[2] Management of some common insect pests and diseases of tomato (Solanum lycopersicon L), Global Science Research Journals: https://www.globalscienceresearchjournals.org/articles/management-of-some-common-insect-pests-and-diseases-of-tomato-solanum-lycopersicon-l-89872.html
[3] YOLO for early detection and management of Tuta absoluta, PMC: https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC12130032/
[4] Phthorimaea absoluta CAPS datasheet (Purdue University): https://caps.ceris.purdue.edu/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/Phthorimaea-absoluta-CAPS-datasheet-20250328.pdf
[5] 施設ミニTomato有機JAS認証圃場における主要害虫の10年 (日本): https://agriknowledge.affrc.go.jp/RN/2010936488.pdf
[6] Tomatoを好む害獣・害虫とは？（日本）: https://hw-control.or.jp/guide/16557
[7] 平成17年病害虫の発生と防除（日本）: https://www.jppa.or.jp/archive/pdf/60_01_03.pdf
[8] 施設ミニTomato有機JAS認証圃場における主要害虫の10年間, J-STAGE: https://www.jstage.jst.go.jp/article/naroj/2020/5/2020_31/_pdf/-char/ja
[9] ヒラズハナアザミウマの発生生態と防除について（日本）: https://agriknowledge.affrc.go.jp/RN/2010622152.pdf
[10] Insect Pests of Tomato - University of Maryland Extension: https://extension.umd.edu/sites/extension.umd.edu/files/2021-03/Insect Pests of Tomato.pdf
[11] Pests of Tomato | NC State Extension Publications: https://content.ces.ncsu.edu/insect-and-related-pests-of-vegetables/pests-of-tomato

For tomato cultivation, it is critically important to accurately understand the ecology and damage signs of these pests, and to combine appropriate control measures (diverse physical, biological, and chemical methods) according to conditions, in order to ensure stable production and quality maintenance.