등검은말벌은 우리나라 뿐 아니라 유럽지역에 침입한 꿀벌의 중요한 포식해충이다. 양봉가들이 살충제를 활용하여 밀도 억제를 시도하고 있으나 아직까지 실현가능하고 과학적 방법과 적용 가능성이 정형화되지 않았다. 본 연구는 양봉가들이 주로 사용하는 살충제를 가지고, 등검은 말벌의 유충과 성충의 살충율과 반응 패턴을 조사하였다. Clothianidin, Dinotefuran, Carbosulfan은 처리 후 30분 내 70% 이상의 살충률을 보 였으며, Bifenthrin, Cartap hydrochloride의 상대적으로 살충률이 낮았다. Clothianidin, Dinotefuran, Carbosulfan의 반수치사약량(LD50)은 각 0.29, 0.65, 2.21 μg/bee이었다. 5령 유충에 대한 24시간 간격으로 3회 연속 섭식 처리를 했을 때, 2일이후에 약효가 나타났고 72시간 후에는 모두 70% 이상 살충률을 보였다. 등검은말벌의 반수치사약량은 양봉꿀벌의 것보다 10-100배 더 높았다. 향후 이 살충제를 말벌 방제에 이용할 수 있을지 추가적 검토가 필요하다.

The yellow-legged hornet, Vespa velutina nigrithorax (Hymenoptera: Vespidae), invaded into South Korea in 2003. Currently, V. velutina is distributed throughout South Korean regions,. A genetic trait of invasive species provides important data for environmental risk assessment. In this study, we analysed the genetic variation of the V. velutina among the populations of South Korea and other foreign countries using partial sequences of mitochondrial COI, CytB and 16S rRNA. We further developed intergenic spacers (IGS2 and IGS3) to detect genetic variation among Korean populations. Each single haplotype was recovered from the domestic V. velutina from each coding gene sequence. Korean individuals shared the haplotype with that of Japan and China. Phylogenetic analysis (excluding 16S rRNA) using available sequences and ours showed the presence of two groups: the Indonesia and Malaysia group and another group (Korea, Japan, China, France, Vietnam and Thailand). The newly developed IGS2 and IGS3 markers resulted in each seven and four haplotypes, providing better resolution than coding gene sequences. Analysis of Molecular Variance using the combined sequences of IGS2 and IGS3 showed that the majority of variance was allocated to each population and only minority of variance is allocated to among-populations. This result may indicate that the V. v. nigrithorax invaded in Korea shows a single panmictic population and this possibly suggest that Korean population may have originated from small founder individuals.

다이옥신류(Polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins and furans: PCDD/Fs)는 화학적으로 매우 안정화 되어 있으며 난분해성 이자 강한 독성을 가지고 있다. 특히 환경 매체의 오염을 통해 생태계 내 생물의 생체에 종종 축적된다. 외래종 등검은말벌은 2003년 국내 침입 후 전국적으로 확산되었으며, 최근 말벌(집)을 민간요법으로 식음하는 사례가 늘면서 이로 인한 오염물질 노출 가능성이 높아지고 있다. 본 연구에서는 도시 및 산림지역에서 말벌(집)을 채집한 후 비의도적 잔류성유기오염물질 공정시험방법에 따라 전처리 후 가스크로마토그래프/고분해능질량분석기(GC/HRMS) 를 이용하여 다이옥신류의 농도수준과 경향을 확인하였다. 농도는 WHO에서 제시한 2015 독성등가계수를 이용하여 TEQ농도(pg-TEQ/g)로 환산하였다. 그 결과, OCDD 등 일부 다이옥신 물질이 검출되었으나, 인체의 유해정도는 낮은 것으로 보인다. 그러나 다양한 지역에서의 등검은말벌 채취 및 분석, 위해성평가 등 추가연구가 필요하다.

Due to their environmental and economical consequences, invasive species have become a major concern worldwide. Among them, the yellow-legged hornet, Vespa velutina, is a keen hunter of domestic honeybees. They use olfactory cues from the prey to assess food information. In this study, we investigated the attraction behavior of V. velutina to honeybee pheromone under outdoor conditions. Nine honeybee pheromones were tested and compared in order to find the best attractant. When testing specific compounds, the honeybee queen pheromone, homovanillyl alcohol, proved highly attractive.

We sequenced the complete mitochondrial genome (mitogenome) of Vespa velutina nigrithorax and V. ducalis (Hymenoptera: Vespidae). The genomes were 16,475-bp and 15,779-bp long and contained typical sets of genes. The V. velutina and V. ducalis A+T-rich region was 132-bp long and 166-bp long and was the shortest of all sequenced Vespoidea genomes. Start and stop codons in several Vespa species—including V. velutina and V. ducalis—were diversified, despite these species belonging to the same genus. In comparison with the ancestral mitogenomes, Vespa mitogenomes showed substantial gene rearrangement; however, we detected no gene rearrangement among Vespa species. We conducted phylogenetic reconstruction based on concatenated sequences of 13 PCGs and two rRNAs in available species of Vespoidea—22 species in six subfamilies in two families (Vespidae and Formicidae). The Bayesian inference and maximum likelihood (ML) methods revealed that each family formed strong monophyletic groups.

Vespa velutina nigrithorax prey on various insect and especially hunts domestic honeybees, such as the European honeybee, Apis melifera. For that reason, V. velutina predation has a direct economic impact on apiculture. In particular V. velutina queens are able to establish of new colonies, so they are suitable for V. velutina management. This study was conducted to investigate the attractant of V. velutina Queen. Four traps were tested and combined attractant such as honeybee comb extraction, honeybee extraction, pollen, rice wine and sugar syrup for attraction efficacy. We was able to observe V. velutina Queen in late April to May. And Honeybee extraction, rice wine and sugar syrup baits (5 : 3 : 2) was the best combination for trapping queen on spring.

Invasive hornet Vespa velutina nigrithorax, which was found at Yeongdo, Busan for the first time in 2003, has been spreading to whole area of Gyeongnam and even to some southern parts of Gyeongbuk for last ten years, causing lots of damage. Urban area of Busan already showed dominant distribution of V. v. nigrithorax marking more than 90% of emergence rate by its spread, while in forest area, its rate had not been so high due to its competition with native Vespa species. However, recently dominance of this species was detected continuously in some forests in Busan. Thus, this study conducted a survey of emergence rate of V. v. nigrithorax at Mt. Bongraesan, Yeongdo-gu, Busan where it was discovered for the first time and also conducted observation of its behaviors related with competition for prey in order to understand its ecological niche relation with native Vespa species. Consequently, 4,560 individuals were collected in total out of main five species of Vespa at Mt. Bongraesan. Of these, V. mandarinia made up 8.7% with 397, V. crabro flavofasciata 21.2% with 965, V. analis parallela 23% with 1,048, V. simillima simillima 0.6% with 27, while V. v. nigrithorax made up 46.6% with 2,123, demonstrating the aspect of the most dominant emergence of V. v. nigrithorax. On the other hand, ecological niche due to competition for prey between V. v. nigrithorax and native Vespa species was revealed in the order of V. mandarinia >> V. crabro flavofasciata > V. analis parallela ≥ V. v. nigrithorax, telling ecological niche of V. v. nigrithorax was relatively low compared to native Vespa species, despite its dominant emergence. This background may explain why in forest area, V. v. nigrithorax had a limited spread and dominance compared to urban area of less competition among Vespa species. On the other hand, V. v. nigrithorax seems to have advantage in catching small insects due to developed agility with its smaller size than other Vespa species, and its rapid spread and adaptation in the local environment may be mainly attributable to its far more number of individuals than native Vespa species and consequent high reproductive rates and diversity of nesting site.

Biological invasion is becoming more important disturbance factor to the structure and function of ecosystem as well as to the bio-industry such as apiculture. Since the invasion of the yellow-legged hornet, Vespa velutina nigrithorax Buysson, 1905 into Busan port, the southeastern part of Korea in 2003, gradual spread of the hornet was observed. The rate of spread was estimated as 12.4 Km/yr, which was 5.6 times slower than that from France, 67.3 Km/yr. The diffusion coefficient (D) is still in increasing phase, implying the greater risk of spread. The Korean population was homologous to Zhejiang population of China implying the possible invasion source. It has a great potential to harm the Korean beekeeping industry and the ecosystem through the competition with the similar guild, the other 10 spcies of Vespa in Korea. Among those, smaller sized hornets such as Vespa analis or V. simillima simillam seemed under serious impact. Community structure of Vespa was different before and after the invasion. After V. velutina invasion, the survey on 2010 from Gyeongnam province showed 67% of V. velutina and reduced proportion of the smaller size hornets such as V. analis, V. crabro and V. simillima simillima compared to the bigger sized hornets such as V. mandarinia or V. ducalis. Also because of the nesting urban area, public education and involvement are requested for protection against the hornet’s aggresiveness and also for monitoring the distribution and population expansion. Further research and public network would mitigate the potential risks.