ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Insect Sci.
Sec. Invasive Insect Species
Volume 5 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/finsc.2025.1593907
An emerging Platynota sp. (Lepidoptera: Tortricidae) infesting blueberry (Vaccinium corymbosum) in the central coast of Peru
Provisionally accepted
Ricardo Velásquez1
Ana Maria Leiva2Alejandra Gil-Ordóñez2Lady Susan Perez1Viviana Dominguez2
Wilmer J. Cuellar2*- 1National Institute of Agricultural Innovation (INIA), Lima, Peru
- 2International Center for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT), Cali, Colombia
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Blueberry cultivation has recently become a rapidly expanding export industry in Peru. With few to no official records of phytosanitary problems up to date. Nevertheless, as observed in other major blueberry producer countries, pests occurrences have been already reported. This study presents a comprehensive biological and molecular characterization of a novel blueberry pest, identifying it as a member of the Tortricidae family in the genus Platynota. The insect's average life cycle was determined to be 46.3 days for males and 48.6 days for females, with the larval stage being the longest (25.4 days on average), and the most destructive due to its feeding behavior, which significantly damages buds and fruits. Morphological analysis of the genitalia, along with a comparison of its complete mitochondrial DNA, further supports the conclusion that this pest is a new species. These findings represent the first report of a tortricid pest affecting blueberries in Peru and offer crucial insights for developing effective pest management strategies, contributing to the sustainable growth of blueberry production and exports in the region.
Keywords: Emerging pests, Mitogenome, diagnostics, Taxonomy, biological cycle 25.4 days average In Peru, where blueberry cultivation is expanding, few Font: (Default) Times New Roman Li, 2018) facilitating genus recognition. owever
Received: 14 Mar 2025; Accepted: 13 May 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Velásquez, Leiva, Gil-Ordóñez, Perez, Dominguez and Cuellar. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Wilmer J. Cuellar, International Center for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT), Cali, Colombia
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