Phosphine (PH3) fumigation has been widely used for controlling storedgrain insect pests, causing the development of resistance of stored-grain insect pests to phosphine. PH3 resistance in Sitophilus oryzae has been reported in Korea. However, PH3 resistance in Tribolium castaneum has not been reported yet. This study was conducted to determine susceptibilities of T. castaneum collected from five different domestic locations to PH3. The susceptibility to PH3 was investigated using the FAO fumigation method. All domestic T. castaneum individuals were controlled by PH3 at 0.04 g m-3. At 0.01 g m-3, T. castaneum collected from two domestic locations did not exhibit 100% mortality. A P45S point mutation in dihydrolipoamide dehydrogenase (dld) gene was found in a PH3-resistant strain of T. castaneum (Aus07), but not in five domestic stains or a PH3-susceptible strain (Aus10). No significant difference was found in dld or cyt-b5-r gene expression across all tested strains. However, the Gyeongju-collected strain of T. castaneum showed more than a 1.7-fold increase in cyt-b5-r expression compared to the Aus07 strain. cDNA sequence analysis revealed that P45S (C133T) in the dld gene was only present in Aus07. A characteristic single nucleotide polymorphism in the cyt-b5-r gene sequence was identified in the five domestic strains. This study suggests that it is necessary to continuously monitor PH3-susceptibility of T. castaneum in Korea to quickly identify resistant individuals and prevent the spread of PH3 resistance through rapid control.

Ethyl formate (EF) is a naturally occurring insecticidal compound and is used to control pests introduced from abroad, in quarantine, by a fumigation method. In particular, it is mainly used as a substitute for methyl bromide and is less toxic to humans and less harmful to plants. This study aimed to investigate the possible acute toxicity of EF to useful organisms, and how to reduce phytotoxicity in watermelon, zucchini, and oriental melon. After fumigation with EF for 2 h, the LC50 values for earthworms, honey bees, and silkworms were 39.9, 7.09, and 17.9 g m-3, respectively. The degree of susceptibility to EF was in the order of earthworms, silkworms, and honey bees based on the LC50 value, and EF fumigation induced stronger acute toxicity to honey bees. Phytotoxicity was observed in watermelon leaves treated with a concentration of 7.5 g m-3 EF, and when treated with a concentration of 10.0 g m-3, it was confirmed that the edges of watermelon leaves were charred and seemed to be damaged by acids. Zucchini and melon, and other cucurbits, showed strong damage to the leaves when treated with a concentration of 10 g m-3, and sodium silicate, at concentrations of 10% and 20%, was used to reduce phytotoxicity. Therefore, acute toxicity towards nontarget organisms and phytotoxicity during the fumigation of EF should be reduced for efficient agricultural pest control.

소나무재선충은 소나무에이즈라고 불리는 소나무해충으로서 전국적으로 큰 피해를 끼치고 있다. 최근 소나무재선충 피해는 경북지역의 경주 및 포항지역에 많이 발생하고 있다. 특히 경주지역에는 역사적인 유적지 및 고분공원이 많은데 이 지역의 소나무 숲에 재선충 피해가 확산되고 있어서 역사적 가치뿐만 아니라 관광산업에 큰 피해가 예상된다. 재선충 피해를 줄이기 위하여 재선충 감염목에 대한 신속한 제거작업이 필요한데 이에 대한 진단이 어려운 실정이다. 본 연구에서는 LAMP-PCR 진단키트를 이용하여 경주 고적지 지역의 재선충 감염이 의심되는 소나무를 진단하였다. 경주남산 및 불국사부근 7개 지역에서 재선충 감염 의심목으로부터 시료를 채취하여 조사해 본 결과 약 50%의 소나무에서 양성반응을 나타내었다. 본 연구를 통하여 경주 고적지의 재선충 감염여부를 신속하게 진단할 수 있었고 경주 유적지의 재선충 피해를 억제하는데 기여할 수 있을 것으로 판단한다.

The water spider (Argyroneta aquatica), a rare member of its species, is one of the few insects known to live under water all over the world. In Korea, the water spider can be found only in the Eundae-ri, Yeoncheon, Gyeonggi province, where they are designated as a natural monument. However, loss of habitat is obvious, as the Eundae-ri wetland undergoes hydrarch succession. Loss of habitat has a direct impact on the water spider population. Thus protective measures for the water spider are needed to preserve the water spider habitat. In this study, a sweeping and visual survey of insect species was conducted in the water spider habitat from May to September 2015. The characteristics of each one of the different insect species and the community features were analyzed in this study. A total of 3,929 insects representing 276 species from 13 orders collected for the analysis. The most frequently collected insects from the Order Hemiptera represented 24.2% of total species and 82.3% of the total number of insects. Community analyses showed dominance, diversity, evenness, and richness indices of 0.23, 2.27, 0.41, and 31.2, respectively. Compared with the previous survey data, these results showed that reduction of the spider’s wetland habitat caused the most commonly collected insects to adapt and spread to the surrounding terrestrial environment.

The density of sweetpotato whitefly, Bemisia tabaci, on greenhouse paprika (Capsicum annuum var. angulosum) were determined by counts of the number of B. tabaci per leaflet in Jinju, Gyeungsangnamdo during 2014. Binomial sampling plans were developed based on the relationship between the mean density per leaf (m) and the proportion of leaf infested with less than T B. tabaci per leaf (PT), according to empirical model (ln(m) = α + β(ln(-ln(1-PT))). T was defined as tally threshold, and set to 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 (adults) and 1, 3, 5, 7 (pupae) per leaf in this study. Increasing sample size, regardless of tally threshold, had little effects on the precision of the binomial sampling plan. Increasing sample size had little effect on the precision of the estimated mean regardless of tally thresholds. T=1 was chosen as the best tally threshold for estimating densities of B. tabaci adults based on the precision on the model and T=3 was best tally thresholds in B. tabaci pupae. Using the results obtained in the greenhouse, simulated validation of the developed sampling plan by RVSP (Resampling Validation for Sampling Plan) indicated the suitable results.