The longhorn pine sawyers, Monochamus saltuarius and M. alternatus (Coleoptera: Cerambycidae), are vectors of the pinewood nematode Bursaphelenchus xylophilus (Nematoda: Parasitaphelenchidae), the causal pathogens of pine wilt disease in Korea. Recently, an aggregation pheromone, 2-(undecyloxy)ethanol, identified from M. galloprovincialis and M. alternatus, was shown to be effective for attracting several Monochamus species in Europe, North America, and East Asia. However, the effect of 2-(undecyloxy)ethanol on attracting M. saltuarius remains largely unraveled. In this study, we investigated the abilities of 2-(undecyloxy)ethanol along with host plant volatiles (α-pinene and ethanol) to attract M. saltuarius at a pine forest in Cheongsong, Gyeongsangbuk-do, Korea. Pine trees in the field experiment site were not previously affected by pine wilt disease. The combination of 2-(undecyloxy)ethanol with host plant volatiles was more effective than either of 2-(undecyloxy)ethanol or host plant volatiles for attracting M. saltuarius. Both sexes of M. saltuarius were attracted to traps containing 2-(undecyloxy)ethanol with the host plant volatiles. Our study suggests that the aggregation pheromone in combination with host plant volatiles could be used for detection and population monitoring of M. saltuarius as well as for effective mass trapping in outbreak situations.

The JpL species is one of the 31 species belonging to the Bemisia tabaci complex and is distributed in two countries, Korea and Japan. To clarify genetic relationships among different populations of the JpL species in Korea, 83 cytochrome oxidase subunit I (COI) sequences generated from 83 individuals collected from eight Korean provinces were analyzed together with published 16 Korean COI sequences. A total of eight haplotypes were detected from the 99 COI sequences, and 82 COI sequences shared one haplotype, hap-2. The remaining 17 COI sequences were assigned to seven haplotypes, hap-1, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, and 8. The median-joining networks of the eight haplotypes revealed that the Korean JpL species has undergone genetic variations separately according to two groups, Korean Peninsula and Jeju Island. In addition, the phylogenetic trees constructed based on the 99 COI sequences and published seven Japanese COI sequences were divided into two clades: clade(A) consisted of 97 COI sequences from the Korean Peninsula group, and clade(B) consisted of 19 COI sequences from the Jeju Island and Japan groups. Our study suggests that the Korean populations of the JpL species might have spread and be undergoing genetic variations separately according to the two groups, Korean Peninsula and Jeju Island.

Whiteflies (Hemiptera: Aleyrodidae) and thrips (Thysanoptera: Thripidae) are major pests on greenhouse crops including sweet pepper (Capsicum annuum L.) in South Korea. To manage this pest complex effectively, it is fundamental to understand population dynamics and spatial distributions of the pests. In this study, we conducted visual counting and used yellow sticky traps to monitor whitefly and thrips populations in sweet pepper greenhouse (6 × 28 m). The survey was conducted every two weeks over two months. A total of 84 traps were set up at 20cm from the plant top canopy and spaced 1m apart from each other. Leaves were selected randomly from the middle plant canopy for visual counting at the same sampling locations. The trap data indicate that the numbers of whiteflies and thrips increased from 5.50 ± 0.34 to 168.51 ± 14.95 and from 52.40 ± 1.67 to 158.42 ± 7.44 (mean ± SE) per trap, respectively, over the two-month observation period. In general, the spatial distributions of these pests aggregated near the greenhouse entrance with significant positive correlation between the densities of the two species (r = 0.74, P = 0.02). However, the results of visual counting were completely different; either species was rarely found on leaves, even when the trap catches were relatively high at the same locations. That is, there was no correlation between visual counting and sticky trap data sets. The current study will serve as a fundamental step to develop reliable and effective management programs for greenhouse sweet pepper.

Acetylcholinesterase (AChE) is a hydrolase that hydrolyzes the neurotransmitter acetylcholine. Soluble form of AChE is generated via alternative splicing and functions as a bioscavenger in Dropsophila melanogaster. In this study, effects of acetic acid on the soluble AChE expression were investigated. Treatment of acetic acid resulted in over-expression of soluble AChE in the abdomen in a dose-dependent manner. The soluble AChE was determined to be expressed in the fat body. However, no apparent change in AChE expression was observed in the head. Our finding suggests that the soluble AChE is involved in chemical defense against high concentration of acetic acid, which is a common by-product in fermenting foods. The high level of acetic acid resistance in D. melanogaster, thus, appears to have been evolved via the induction mechanism of soluble AChE expression.

The genus of Cinara (Aphididae: Lachninae) live on the roots, trunk, branches, twigs, shoots or foliage of Coniferae and can be easily distinguished in having the very big body, apterae up to 5-6 ㎜ in length and short antennae which are shorter than half the body length. Most of species are monoecious without host alternation and attended by ants. Based on body appearance and COI gene sequence, we report Cinara cuneomaculata (Del Guercio) on Larix kaempferi, C. largirostris Zhang G. & W. Zhang on Pinus thunbergii and P. dnesiflora, C. smaragdina (Pashtshenko) on Abies holophylla and C. piceae on Juniperus rigida, for the first time in Korea.