Winter cherry bug, Acanthocoris sordidus Thunberg (Hemiptera: Coreidae) is a pest of Solanaceous and Convolvulaceous crops and distributed in Taiwan, Japan, and Korea. Adult female generally lays eggs in cluster on host plant leaves. Most researches have been conducted in Japan, and it is regarded as a minor pest. In this study, we surveyed the seasonal population change of A. sordidus and its damages from May to September by visual count in experimental pepper fields located in Andong National University, where no pesticide was sprayed. Hatchability was measured using field-laid egg mass covered by nylon-meshed pouch. Potential disease transmission was confirmed in filed pepper fruits confined for a week with two adult A. sordidus inside nylon-meshed pouch. Adults and eggs of A. sordidus started to appear in 30th May and 10th June, respectively. Nymph populations were first found on 10th July. No eggs were found from 7th September when highest adult population (67/plant) was recorded. Hatchability was over 90% in the field. No disease transmission to pepper fruit was observed. We believe that A. sordidus would become a serious pest under a certain condition such as low level of insecticide use and climate change.

• Dongmok Kim(Department of Bioresource Sciences, Andong National University (BK21+))
• Un Taek Lim(Department of Bioresource Sciences, Andong National University (BK21+))