The article provides a key for species identification of Lepidoptera larvae – pests of grain and its processed products, regulated in countries importing Russian grain products. The work also lists those species for which this product is not the main one, and they feed, as a rule, on nuts, dried fruits, etc. The following species can be identified using this key: Cadra calidella (Guenée, 1845), Cadra cautella (Walker, 1863), Cadra figulilella (Gregson, 1871), Apomyelois ceratoniae (Zeller, 1839), Ephestia elutella (Hübner, 1796), Ephestia kuehniella Zeller, 1879, Plodia interpunctella (Hübner, [1813]), Aphomia cephalonica (Stainton, 1866), Aphomia gularis (Zeller, 1877), Pyralis farinalis (Linnaeus, 1758), Sitotroga cerealella (Olivier, 1789), Hofmannophila pseudospretella (Stainton, 1849), Endrosis sarcitrella (Linnaeus, 1758), Nemapogon granella (Linnaeus, 1758). Since the main diagnostic characters are related to the chaetotaxy features (number and position of primary setae on the body), the article presents its scheme on the example of P. interpunctella using the currently accepted setae nomenclature according to Hinton. In case of insufficient setae contrast, staining of total larvae macropreparations with carbol fuchsin is recommended. The key is illustrated with original photographs to facilitate its use by agricultural specialists and staff of quarantine phytosanitary laboratories.

The article provides critical analysis of the taxonomy, distribution and biology of the serious pest of grain crops included in the Common List of Quarantine Pests of the Eurasian Economic Union – chinch bug Blissus leucopterus (Say, 1832) and related taxa (Blissus leucopterus complex). The ambiguity of the species identity of populations adapted in the west of the European continent is shown (initially identified by the National Plant Protection Organization of Portugal as Blissus insularis Barber, 1918). Possible pathways of the chinch bug and related taxa into the European continent and their further spread are considered. Using mathematical modeling methods based on machine learning (maximum entropy algorithm), models of the ecological niche and potential range of three taxa, generally accepted by most modern authors as Blissus leucopterus leucopterus (Say, 1832), Blissus leucopterus hirtus Montandon, 1893 and Blissus insularis Barber, 1918 are given. A high probability of adaptation on the territory of the Russian Federation was demonstrated for B. l. leucopterus (primarily in the Southern and southern Volga Federal Districts) and B. l. hirtus (Southern, south of the Central, Volga and Ural Federal Districts), and medium – B. insularis (Krasnodar Krai). The need for further study of the potential negative economic impact of the chinch bug and related taxa is shown in order to justify additional phytosanitary measures to prevent their introduction and spread.

The article presents an analysis of existing approaches to assessing the potential economic significance of pests (weeds) when conducting a pest risk analysis. The insufficiency of the existing international and Russian methodological basis for conducting such an assessment is shown. The applicability and accuracy of existing assessment methods are analyzed. The greatest practical applicability of the method of drawing up a partial financial estimate (partial budgeting) using a linear regression model is shown. Based on existing methods and practices, an improved methodology is proposed that takes into account empirical data on the harmfulness of weeds for agricultural crops, and the adaptation probability (accepted as the suitability of conditions) in accordance with the mathematical model of the potential species area. This approach is based on the objective correlation between the harmfulness and abundance of weeds in the agrocenosis, which in turn is determined by the suitability of environmental conditions. An approach to the qualitative assessment of potential economic losses is proposed based on the correlation of estimated indicators of potential damage and gross domestic product in the area of pest risk analysis. The described methodology allows to significantly increase the reliability and accuracy of the assessment of the potential economic significance of dangerous weed species during pest risk analysis, complies with the requirements of legislation and methodological documents in the field of plant protection and is mathematically equivalent to the assessment methods previously used in the practice of pest risk analysis in the Russian Federation. Prospects for further improvement of methods for assessing the negative impact of pests during pest risk analysis based on more detailed models of agricultural production and economic relationships are noted.

Tomato leaf miner Tuta absoluta is a pest Solanaceae crops, characterized by a high reproduction rate, rapid adaptation to changing environmental conditions and resistance to chemical insecticides. Its main hots plant is tomato. The species is characterized by high harmfulness both in the region of origin (South America) and in the vast territory of its secondary range, which in recent years has been formed due to the intensive development of international trade relations. In the Russian Federation, Tuta absoluta was first detected in Krasnodar Krai in 2011, and later its harmfulness was reported from Crimea.

The main control method for the tomato leaf miner is the use of chemical insecticides, which, though, have a negative impact on the environment. An alternative method of reducing the number of pests in greenhouses, which allows limiting or completely eliminating the use of insecticides, is the use of synthetic pheromones for mass capture or disorientation of the pest.

The article provides the results of field trials conducted on tomato crops in protected ground conditions. The effectiveness of the control of T. absoluta by the disorientation and mass trapping method using a synthetic sex pheromone, acetate E3, Z8, Z11-tetradecatrien-1-ol synthesized in FGBU “VNIIKR” is shown. The effectiveness of using the disorientation and mass trapping methods was 92 and 61%, respectively, and their biological effectiveness was 80 and 45%, respectively. The results of the studies on increasing the tomato yield and quality using the T. absoluta sex pheromone are presented. The quality of tomato fruits in the disorientation variant reached 97%, and in the mass trapping method – 81%, while in the control this indicator was equal to 66%. The use of the disorientation and mass trapping methods led to 18 and 12% increases in tomato yield, respectively, compared to the control variant.

The disorientation method and the mass trapping method can be recommended for use when growing tomatoes in protected ground conditions in order to reduce the number of T. absoluta in plantings. As an element of the integrated pest management, the use of pheromone traps can be combined with either chemical or biological agents that are approved for use in protected ground conditions.