Comparing morphological and molecular identification of cryptic invasive pest, Tuta absoluta

Invasive insects are economically and ecologically damaging. Early detection of invasive species remains a key component in prevention strategies, but detection is especially challenging when a pest is morphologically cryptic. Morphological identification of cryptic species can also tend to be slow and costly. In a past study, T. absoluta DNA was successfully identified from mock sticky trap insect communities . We aim to test whether metabarcoding can be used to identify the presence of cryptic pests more efficiently and accurately than morphological identification. Here, we compare morphological and molecular identification methods for detection of several insect pests including T. absoluta,. Specifically, we created sticky traps artificially seeded with these species and non-target bycatch, including known lookalikes for T. absoluta. Pest species were then identified using morphology by insect taxonomists alongside the molecular pipeline. Success of each method was evaluated by measuring the precision of identification and total time to identification. The inclusion of multiple pest targets simulates different scenarios in which either molecular or morphological identification may be best suited, allowing us to compare the success of each method and address improvements.