생활권 수목이란 주민들이 생활하는 지역에 식재된 수목으로, 가로수, 학교수목, 아파트 수목 등 종류가 다양 하며 도시경관과 생활환경 개선의 이점을 제공한다. 그러므로 생활권 수목의 유지와 관리에 있어서도 인근 주민 에 혐오감이나 피해가 없도록 방제를 수행하는 것이 매우 중요하다. 일반적인 경엽살포의 경우, 약액 비산에 의해 주민들의 활동 제한, 안전사고 및 재산상 피해가 발생할 수 있으므로 사용이 제한적이다. 이러한 문제를 해결하기 위해, 나무에 약제를 직접 주입하는 나무주사(trunk injection)가 보편적인 생활권 수목 방제법으로 주목 받고 있으며, 이는 주입물질의 손실이 없고, 외부환경에 크게 영향 받지 않는다는 장점이 있다. 하지만 생활권 수목 전반에 대한 나무주사 처리방법이 명확하지 않아 약효가 일부 가지에서만 나타나는 등 사후 검증 및 관리가 미흡한 실정이다. 본 연구는 생활권 수목 병해충 방제 나무주사 제품의 효과제고를 위한 기존 처리방법 개선 및 최적의 약제처리 방법을 검증하였다. 느티나무외줄면충(Colopha moriokaensis)을 대상으로 시험을 진행하였 으며, Acetamiprid을 시험약제로 사용하였다. 느티나무에 대하여 약제처리 위치, 주입량, 천공수, 주사시기에 따른 약효 및 약해를 확인하였으며, 이를 바탕으로 최적의 약제처리 방법을 제시하였다.

Golden apple snails(GAS) are native to warm regions such as Central and South America and Southeast Asia, and were first introduced as a high-protein food. GAS are omnivorous and have a habit of eating plants submerged in water, so they have been used for eco-friendly weed control in rice fields since 1992. When the GAS was first introduced, it was thought that it would be impossible to overwinter in Korea. However after 2000, overwintering individuals were founded and damage to rice occurred and the development of means to control GAS has been required. In this study, we tested the effectiveness of an eco-friendly pest control agent using Styrax japonicus that grow naturally in Korea. As a result of exposing GAS to S. japonicus fruit powder, a 100% molluscicidal effect was confirmed at 66.7ppm. To investigate the duration of effect, treatment was performed at the same concentration and molluscicidal effect of more than 90% was up to 3 days after treatment. The killing effect of each part of the S. japonicus was compared, and the seed extracts showed no killing effect at all concentrations, while the sarcocarp extracts showed a 100% killing effect up to 33.3ppm, and the fruit extracts showed a 100% killing effect up to 200ppm.

Feltiella acarisuga(Vallot) is a common gall midge that feeds on many species of spider mites. The effect of temperature and humidity on the development of F. acarisuga female were determined using eggs of the twos potted spider mite, Tetranychus urticae(Koch), as prey under laboratory condition (27.9±0.5℃, 90% RH, and 14:10 [L:D] h). F. acarisuga female laid the most eggs on the 5th day after mating, and the acumulative fecundity reached it speak on the 13th day. The sex ratio of F. acarisuga was 6:4, male to female. The average number of eggs per day during life was 2.7 but during the egg-laying period was 3.1. The female’s lifespan was about 3.5 days longer than that of the male in the adult stage but 6.2 days longer including the egg and larval period. The temperature did not affect the female survival and fecundity, but as humidity was lowered, the female’s survival period washortened and fecundity decreased. When using F. acarisuga as natural enemies, the optimal temperature rage was 20 to 30℃ and the relative humidity was 80 to 95%.

The cucumber flower does’t seem to be supplying enough nectar and pollen to the natural enemies. Among the natural enemies that can be used in the cucumber greenhouse, especially Orius laevigatus may require flower nectar and pollen for settlement and reproduction. In our previous study, we selected basil as a natural enemy banker plant. Using this, the effect of thrips control in cucumber greenhouse was examined. The major pests of cucumber in 2023 were Aphis gossypii, Frankliniella occidentalis, Thrips palmi and Trialeurodes vaporariorum. A. gossypii occurred most frequently, and the next occurred pests were F. occidentalis and T. palmi. The densities of O. laevigatus remained stable on basil banker plants. After releasing O. laevigatus and adding the basil banker plants, the densities of T. palmi were kept low at less than 3 per leaf, and the densities of F. occidentalis were kept low at less than 10 per 3 flowers but increased slightly since late May. As a result, the density of thrips during cucumber cultivation was effectively suppressed after the use of natural enemies.

Microbes in insect gut significantly influence host physiology. While Lepidoptera is a diverse insect order, the relationship between microbial symbiosis and host development remains elusive, especially concerning role of gut-colonizing bacteria in metamorphosis. We investigated the gut microbial diversity in Galleria mellonella throughout its life cycle using 16S rRNA amplicon sequencing. Our findings revealed a predominance of Enterococcus spp. in larvae and Enterobacter spp. in pupae. Remarkably, removing Enterococcus spp. hastened the larval-to-pupal transition. Transcriptome analysis showed an upregulation of immune response genes in pupae and hormone genes in larvae. Notably, the production of antimicrobial peptides in the host gut varied with developmental stages. Some of these peptides suppressed the growth of Enterococcus innesii, a dominant gut bacterium in G. mellonella larvae. This research underscores the pivotal role of gut microbiota shifts in metamorphosis, driven by the secretion of antimicrobial peptides in the G. mellonella digestive system.

The fall armyworm (FAW), Spodoptera frugiperda, is an invasive pest species in Africa and Asia, which is native to the Western hemisphere. Invaded FAW was corn feeding strain. We study the developmental and biology of the corn strain FAW on the rice plants compare the result with corn feeding up to F2- generation. The development periods of F0, F1 and F2 generations of the rice-fed colony were 21.7%, 18.3% and 18.9% longer than corn-fed colony. The rice-fed colony was significantly lower in the body weight of larvae and pupae, and pre-adult survival rate and the fecundity than corn-fed colony. Our results showed that the corn strain FAW can survive and complete its life cycle by feeding rice plants up to several generations under laboratory condition, but their development and fecundity were reduced in comparison to the corn feeding colony. However, this study suggests potential impact of invaded FAW to the infestation of rice fields in Asian countries.

The family Asilidae(robber flies) is one of the representative predatory flies that hunts a variety of insects during the larval and adult stages. There are more than 7,500 known species distributed around the world, and 74 species in 30 genera are recorded in Korea. There are about 270 species of the genus Leptogaster recorded worldwide, and three species (L. augusta, L. basilaris, L. dorsopicta) are recorded in Korea. Through this study, three unrecorded species (L. abdominalis, L. furculata, L. spadix) were identified, and a total of six species were confirmed to be distributed in Korea. We would like to provide general information of the genus Leptogaster, a list of currently distributed species in Korea, photos, diagnostic traits, and so on.

지난 2022년 제주도 애월읍 일대에서 콩 해충으로 알려진 콩은무늬밤나방(Ctenoplusia agnata) 성충이 검거세 미밤나방(Agrotis ipsilon)의 성페로몬 트랩에 대량으로 포획되었다. 검거세미밤나방 트랩은 목적 해충에 대한 포획 효율을 조사하기 위해 세 구성 성분, (Z)-7-dodecenyl acetate, (Z)-9-tetradecenyl acetate를 3:1 비율로 고정하고 (Z)-11-hexadecenyl acetate를 0, 1, 6, 10, 15로 각각 비율을 달리한 미끼를 사용하였다. 각 조성별 콩은무늬밤나방 성충 포획수를 비교한 결과, (Z)-11-hexadecenyl acetate가 첨가되지 않은 트랩에서 주당 평균 약 17.96마리로, 가장 많은 수의 개체가 포획된 것으로 확인되었다. 반면, (Z)-11-hexadecenyl acetate가 가장 많이 함유된 트랩에서 주당 평균 약 2.5마리로 가장 적은 개체가 포획된 것으로 파악되었다. 이에 (Z)-11-hexadecenyl acetate의 비율이 증가할 수록, 포획되는 콩은무늬밤나방의 개체 수가 감소되는 것을 확인할 수 있었다. 검거세미밤나방 미끼의 주성분인 Z)-7-dodecenyl acetate는 기존의 콩은무늬밤나방 유인 성분 중 하나이기도 하여 해당 성분의 구성비가 유인에 영향을 미쳤다는 것을 예측할 수 있다. 추후에 해당 트랩들과 시판 중인 콩은무늬밤나방 성페로몬 트랩을 설치하 여 포획 양상을 비교할 필요성이 요구된다.

The honey bee, Apis mellifera, has a defense system, including detoxification, antioxidation, and immunity pathways, against external stimulation such as chemicals, stress, and pathogens. However, pesticides, particularly neonicotinoids and butenolids, have been recently reported to alter physiological changes in honey bee. In this study, we investigated the expression levels of eight genes categorized into detoxification (CYPQ3), antioxidation (CAT and SOD2), and immune system (Abaecin, Apidaecin, Defensin1, Defensin2, and Hymenoptaecin), in five tissues (Head, Thorax, Gut, Fat body, and Carcass) of honey bee treated with three pesticides (Acetamiprid, Imidacloprid, and Flupyradifurone) using quantitative real-time PCR. Gene expression patterns was varied depending on the type of pesticides and tissues. However, among eight genes, the expression levels of CYPQ3 was notably induced, but those of AMPs were generally reduced by all pesticides tested in this study in five tissues. These suggest that CYPQ3-mediated detoxification pathway is induced, but AMP-mediated immune system might be disrupted when honey bee is exposed to neonicotinoids and butenolid.

Pesticides are indispensable in contemporary agriculture but are mainly attributed to honey bee population decline. In order to understand the approximate physiological response to pesticides, honey bees were exposed to seven pesticides (Acetamiprid, Imidacloprid, Flupyradifurone, Carbaryl, Fenitrothion, Amitraz, and Bifenthrin), and expression changes of the genes categorized into four physiological functions (insecticide targets, immune-, detoxification-, and reactive oxygen species response-related gene) were analyzed in the head and abdomen of honey bee exposed to pesticides using quantitative PCR. Based on the heat map analysis, immune-related genes seem to be more up-regulated by pesticide exposure in head than abdomen. Among detoxification genes, only cytochrome P450 families were up-regulated in head. Interestingly, regardless of the insecticide target, expressions of Nicotinic acetylcholine receptor beta 1 and Acetylcholinesterase 1 were notably induced by pesticide exposure in head. Heat map analysis expressing the transcription profiles of various genes in the head and abdomen of the honey bee exposed to various pesticides can be used to diagnose pesticide damage in honey bees in the future.

The subfamily Pselaphinae is one of the largest groups in the family Staphylinidae. Pselaphine beetles consists of 6 supertribes. The supertribe Faronitae consists of 30 genera worldwide, with 14 genera in Australia and New Zealand. While examining faronite specimens, we separated 366 specimens that did not belong to any known faronite genera. Species of this genus can be separated from other faronite genera by the foveal system, features of the aedeagus, and collection localities which are only collected in the southern part of Australia. Through this study, we describe seven new species and three new combinations that previously belonged to the genus Sagola.

Goniaceritae is the most speciose supertribe of the subfamily Pselaphinae with more than 3,000 species worldwide. Brachyglutini is the only tribe within New Zealand Goniaceritae, comprised of 8 genera. Physobryaxis Hetschko is monotypic genus of the subtribe Brachyglutina. Although the adults of P. inflatus is close to the members of genus Gastrobothrus Broun, 1882, it is characterized by median antebasal fovea and antebasal sulcus on pronotum. In this study, we report six species of Physobryaxis examining 21 specimens. Illustrations of the habitus, diagnostic characters including male genitalia, and key to the species are also provided. Additionally, we present a distributional map divided into areas based on Crosby’s code.

The striped fruit fly (SFF), Zeugodacus scutellata, is an agricultural pest species with a strong and rapid reproductive ability that can cause significant harm. To control the population of these kind of pests, the sterile insect technique (SIT) is being used as one of the effective methods. SIT involves the introduction of sexually transmitted factors that reduce the reproductive capacity of males. This study shows that knocking down the testis-specific serine/threonine protein kinase 1 (Zs-Tssk1) gene alters male fertility and male-initiated types of communication. Since Zs-Tssk1 influences the physiology of the testes, spermatogenesis is also affected, which in turn alters the lifespan of Zs-Tssk1 knock down group in comparison with the control. Based on these results, Zs-Tssk1 may be crucial in reproductive function, and its down-regulation may be helpful in controlling SFF through SIT.

꽃노랑총채벌레(Frankliniella occidentalis)는 고추를 가해하는 주요 병해충 가운데 하나이다. 유충과 성충이 긁어빠는 구기로 잎과 열매에 가해하는 직접피해는 물론이고 일명 칼라병이라 일컬어지는 토마토반점위조바 이러스를 전파하는 간접피해를 주고 있다. 다양한 바이러스 내병성 품종이 농가에서 재배되고 있으나, 칼라병의 발병은 해를 거듭하며 증가하고 있다. 놀라운 사실은 일부 내병성 품종에 대해서 총채벌레의 유인력이 감수성 품종에 비해 높다는 사실이다. 본 연구는 꽃노랑총채벌레에 대한 고추의 항객성 기작을 분석하였다. 총채벌레에 이미 피해를 받은 고추는 다른 총채벌레의 접근을 억제하는 것은 물론이고 천적인 미끌애꽃노린재를 유인하였 다. 이 고추 내부에는 자스모닉산 생합성 관여 유전자의 발현이 증가하였다. 고추가 생산하는 향기성분을 SPME 방식으로 모아 분석한 결과 Green leaf volatile과 terpene류의 증가를 보였다. 시판되는 10개의 고추 품종을 대상으 로 항객성 생물 검정과 향기성분 분석을 실시한 결과 이상의 항객성 기작을 뒷받침하였다. 또한 근권세균 가운데 일부는 고추로 하여금 이러한 항객성을 유도하였다.

꿀벌에 대한 중요성이 인식되고 도시양봉의 수요가 증가하는 가운데 도시양봉에 최적화된 벌통을 제작하였 다. 꿀벌과 도시양봉에 대한 설문를 진행한 결과, 분봉으로 인한 민원이 도시양봉을 하는 데 가장 큰 저해요소로 꼽혔다. 이에 분봉을 방지하여 시민과 어우러질 수 있으며 친환경적인 벌통을 제작하는 데 초점을 맞췄다. 분봉을 방지하기 위해서는 여왕벌의 이탈을 감지하는 자성 센서와 벌들이 분봉을 하고자 하는 욕구인 분봉열을 감지하 는 온도 센서를 설치하여 효율을 파악하였다. 더불어 최근 이상기후로 인한 잦은 폭우와 고열을 견디기 위하여 밀랍을 이용한 벌통 코팅을 진행하였다. 벌통의 바닥에는 트레이를 서랍처럼 분리 설치할 수 있도록 함으로써 무더운 기온에서는 손쉽게 트레이를 빼서 환기에 중점을 두고, 그 외의 조건에서는 트레이를 끼워둠으로써 바닥 에 떨어진 꿀벌의 사체를 주기적으로 수거하여 유전자 분석을 함으로써 꿀벌의 건강 상태를 점검할 수 있도록 하였다. 꿀벌이 해당 벌통으로 인하여 스트레스를 받는지 꿀벌의 주요 스트레스 마커 유전자의 상대적 발현량을 조사한 결과, 일반적인 벌통에서의 발현량 수준과 큰 차이가 없는 것을 확인할 수 있었다. 이처럼 새로이 디자인된 벌통을 이용한다면 이상기후에서도 도시양봉을 하는 데 기여할 수 있을 것으로 기대된다.

Immune priming is an increased immunity after prior exposure to a specific pathogen as a kind of adaptive immunity and occurs in insects. However, its underlying mechanism is elusive in insects. Immune priming was detected in a lepidopteran insect, Spodoptera exigua. Prior infection with a heat-killed pathogenic bacterium, Xenorhabdus hominickii, increased survival upon the second infection of the live bacteria compared to larvae without pre-exposure. Plasma collected from larvae with the prior infection significantly up-regulated cellular and humoral immune responses compared to the similar treatment without prior exposure. However, when the active plasma exhibiting immune priming was heat-treated, it lost the priming activity, suggesting a presence of protein factor(s) in the immune priming. Lipocalin is a lipid carrier protein and is well known in vertebrates for diverse physiological functions including immunity. An apolipoprotein D3 (ApoD3) is known to be a lipocalin functioning in immune priming in a mosquito, Anopheles gambiae. A homologous ApoD3 (Se-ApoD3) was identified in S. exigua. Se-ApoD3 was expressed in all developmental stages and larvae, it was highly expressed in hemocytes. RNA interference (RNAi) of Se-ApoD3 expression was performed by injecting its specific dsRNA. The larvae treated with the RNAi were impaired in cellular and humoral immune responses. Furthermore, the plasma collected from RNAi-treated larvae lost the immune priming even at the prior exposure. These suggest that Se-ApoD3 mediates the immune priming in S. exigua.

As a result of our taxonomic study of the genus Epistrophe (Walker) in Korea, we recognized a total of 16 species including seven putative new species (code names are temporarily given from A to F). We also conducted a DNA barcoding analysis of 25 nominal species and 130 samples of Epistrophe. In our barcoding analysis, despite insufficient bootstrap support, Epistrophe formed a cluster with two genera, Epistrophella and Leucozona, topologically supporting their close relationships. Our analysis also showed some interesting results worthy of attention: First, at least two distinct cryptic species were found within the E. grossulariae cluster. Second, the taxon identified as E. nitidicollis seems to represent at least three distinct species. Third, three BOLD-deposited European samples listed as E. olgae showed almost identical barcode sequences with the European E. nitidicollis.

양봉꿀벌은 한 마리 여왕벌을 중심으로 일벌 및 수벌들이 군집을 이루고 있는 사회성 곤충이다. 꿀벌은 여왕벌 이 깨어나면 처녀비행 (반경 2.4~7.4km )을 하여 공중에서 여러 마리의 수벌들과 교미를 한 후, 자신의 봉군 내부로 돌아와 평생을 살아가는 생태적 특성을 가지고 있다. 이와 같은 이유로 계통 증식 또는 품종 육종에서 외부의 오염원을 차단하기 위해서는 여왕벌과 수벌이 격리된 지역에서 교미가 이루어져야 한다. 본 연구는 여왕벌과 수벌이 격리될 수 있는 국내 도서지역을 중심으로 격리교미 연구를 2020년부터 2023년 봄부터 가을까지 수행하 였으며, 육종을 위한 격리교미의 효율성을 분석하고자 하였다. 도서지역은 전남 - 낙월도, 전북 - 위도, 왕등도, 식도에서 수행되었으며, 섬 크기, 경관 환경 요인, 교미 시기 등에 의해 격리교미의 성공률이 어떻게 변하는지를 확인하였다.

Process-based models are effective in addressing spatially explicit dispersal of invasive species based on life mechanisms including birth, death, movement and response to environmental factors. An invading alien species, the western conifer seed bug (Leptoglossus occidentalis), spreads rapidly in the Korean peninsula since 1988. Process-based models were developed to include the rules occurred in population dynamics of the western conifer seed bug population. Passive movements were additionally linked to the models to present local and global transportations due to sapling trades. Simulation results presented the rapid dispersal of the pest species, comparable to field data. Model parameters including the Alle effect threshold and contribution of global transportation were adjusted to reveal spatially-explicit advancement patters of the species. Utilization of process-based models is further discussed in monitoring and management of forest insect pests in field conditions.

Natural enemy insects, including predators and parasitoids, are beneficial organisms that feed upon other agricultural pests. Using natural enemy insects to suppress or prevent outbreak of pests is a key component of integrated pest management strategy. It is safe, effective, and environmentally friendly and can be applied easily to the greenhouses, filed crops and orchards. Rearing and application of natural enemy insects in biocontrol in China have a long history. As early as 1700 years ago, the predator Oecophylla smaragdina has been used for controlling many kinds of citrus pests. Up to now, more than 30 species of natural enemies that can be artificially mass produced and widely used for biological control of many kinds of pests, including caterpillars, aphids, whiteflies, thrips, leaf mites and scales in China. The annual average application area of natural enemies is over 11.34 million hectares. However, with the increasing demand of using natural enemies in biological control programs, the development of natural enemy insect industrialization still face many challenges. It is urgent to explore more effective candidate natural enemies, improve the production efficiency, increase the shelf life of products and enhance the colonization of natural enemy insects after release, and thus facilitate the commercially production and application of natural enemies. This is of great significance for comprehensively promoting the use of green prevention and control techniques for crop diseases and pests, reducing the use of chemical pesticides, ensuing the quality and safety of food and agricultural products, and ultimately promoting sustainable agricultural development.