Issue No. 131
S. L. Poe
April, 1973
Introduction
The tomato pinworm is a small, microlepidopteran moth that is often confused with closely related species which have similar habits. Apparently much of the damage to tomatoes attributed to the eggplant leafminer (Gnorimoschema glochinella Zeller) in Mexico and California during the early 1920’s was actually inflicted by the tomato pinworm (Morrill, 1925). It persisted in the literature as the eggplant leafminer until redescribed as a new species (Busk, 1928) collected from tomatoes. It was later synonymized with Eucatoptus lycopersicella Walshingham. Capps (1946) provided a key, with descriptions, that defines the species and permits identification of larvae with which it might be confused.