The toxicity of bay leaf (Pimenta racemosa) and palmorasa (Cymbopogon martini) essential oils, and its constituents, and structurally related compounds to adult American house dust mites, Dermatophagoides farinae was examined. Both bay leaf (24 h LC50, 131.95 μg/cm2) and palmorosa (24 h LC50, 116.10 μg/cm2) essential oils were toxic to mites. The most active principles were determined to be citral, methyleugenol, eugenol, and geranyl acetate from both bay leaf and palmorosa oils. Citral (24 h LC50, 1.13 μg/cm2), methyl eugenol (5.78 μg/cm2), eugenol (24 h LC50, 12.52 μg/cm2) and geranyl acetate (24 h LC50, 18.79 μg/cm2) were the most toxic. The toxicity of these compounds was more toxic than that of commercially available acaricides such as, benzylbenzoate (LC50,8.41μg/cm2) and deet (37.67 μg/cm2). Potent toxicity was also observed with nerol, linalool and geraniol (LC50, 21.44–54.61 μg/cm2). These compounds were consistently more toxic in closed versus open containers, indicating that their mode of delivery was largely a result of vapour action. Both bay leaf and palmorosa oil, and their constituents shown their potentials as effective alternatives for harmful synthetic acaricides for the control of Dermatophagoides populations as fumigants in contact and therefore illustrated the need for further study of these essential oils.

In this study, a zygaenid speies, Artona martini Efetov, was reported for the first time from Korea. Recently we collected numerous larvae of the species, feeding on bamboo, Pseudosasa japonica (Siebold & Zucc. ex Steud.) Makino, in Hongneung arboretum of Korea Forest Research Institute, Seoul. This species is very similar to Artona (Balataea) funeralis (Butler) in appearance, which was recorded first from Korea by Witt (1985). Because the two species is very similar to each other in appearance and host plants, it will be need to examine and compare the Korean materials of the two species. But there is no available specimen of Artona (Balataea) funeralis (Butler), which was reported by Witt (1985) for the time being. They have two generations per year in Korea: The moths of first generation fly during the middle of May to middle of June and the second generation during the late of July to the early of August respectively. Also Sasa borealis (Hack.) Makino was recorded as host plants of the species from Japan (Yamaguchi & Arita, 1960). The external morphology was examined and illustrated. Materials examined herein are now preserved in the Korea National Arboretum.