The genus Halictus Latreille, 1804 and Seladonia Robertson, 1918 are nearly cosmopolitan group, consisting of more than 206 described species worldwide except Antarctica region. In previous taxonomic and phylogenetic research, this genus regarded as a sister group of genus Halictus. In this study, a total of two genera seven species were reviewed from Korean peninsula (three Halictus, four Seladonia) with three new records (Halictus hedini hedini, Seladonia confusa, S. henanensis). A key to species and images of adult are provided.

In the genus Acrobasis Zeller, 1839, there are 14 species known in Korea. In this study, we present Acrobasis rubrizonella (Ragonot, 1893) and Acrobasis subceltifoliella Yamanaka, 2006 from Korea for the first time. We hear provide diagnoses, descriptions, and images of the adults and genitalia of the two species.

In Korea, both Sympetrum depressiusculum Sélys, 1841 (Odonata: Libellulidae) and Sympetrum frequens Sélys, 1883 are recorded. However, the identity of Korean populations and the validity of listing the two species have not yet been settled. In this study, we collected 74 individuals from Kroea, Russia, the Netherlands, and Japan. These were sequenced for COI, 16S rRNA, and ITS region. Major morphological characters and phylogenetic, network, and structure analyses all consistently suggest that Korean populations form a single species. Consequently, it could be valid to treat Korean populations as one species, S. depressiusculum, by applying the senior name.

Currently 41 valid species of the Pholcus phungiformes-group (Araneae: Pholcidae) have been known from Korea. In this study, four new species of this species-group were discovered from Gangwon-do and eastern Chungcheongbuk-do. These new species have common characteristics with Pholcus socheunensis, such as broad and membranous prolateral process and strongly curved pseudoappendix in male palp. The female of Pholcus montanus in the original description is the misidentification of a new species. Brief diagnosis, photographs and a distribution map of the new species and P. socheunensis with discussion on their sympatric distribution are provided.

The genus Conicera Meigen is a group of necrophagous phorid flies mostly associated with carrion, including C. tibialis, commonly known as the “coffin fly” that breeds in buried corpses. In this study, specimens of the Conicera species collected from South Korea are examined morphologically on the basis of characteristics on male antennae, sensory organ on midfemora, and left and right surstyli on hypopygium. As a result, five species, viz. C. dauci, C. gracilis, C. orientalis, C. pacifica, C. quadrata are newly recorded from South Korea. Photographs of diagnostic characters, a distribution map and a key to males of South Korean species are provided.

Pseudopomyzidae (Diptera: Nerioidea) is rare and a small family of dark-colored acalyptrate flies, comprising 24 extant species in eight genera and two fossil species in a single genus. To date, only one species Pseudopomyza atrimana (Meigen, 1830) has been recorded in the Korean Peninsula. This study reports the first Korean records of the family Pseudopomyzidae, with two genera and two species, Polypathomyia stackelbergi Krivosheina, 1979 and Tenuia smirnovi Shatalkin, 1995. A key to Korean Pseudopomyzidae is provided with morphological diagnosis and illustrations of habitus and genital structures of males.

The Eurytoma appendigaster species-group is a second large group within the genus Eurytoma Illiger found in the Palearctic region. This group comprises 44 species by Zerova, but in Korea, only one species, E. appendigaster (Swederus), has been previously reported. They are well-known for their predation on phytophagous insects, mainly the genus Tetramesa which is belonged to the family Eurytomidae and associated with grasses (Poaceae). In this study, we report seven species of the appendigaster species-group from Korea for the first time. Also, key to Korean species of appendigaster species-group and photos of diagnostic characteristics are provided.

The genus Margarinotus Marseul, 1854 is one of the highly diverse groups of Histeridae (Histerinae), consisting more than 100 described species in the world. About 80 species are known to distributed in Palaearctic region, among them, 11 species have been reported from Korea. In this study, we report a new species, Margarinotus pseudoboleti sp. nov. and a new record, Margarinotus yezoensis Ôhara from Korea. Also, we provide a revised taxonomic key for Korean Margarinotus, including above two species and images of adults.

The genus Brachydeutera Loew, 1862 is a small group of acalyptratae flies belonging to the subfamily Ephydrinae in the family Ephydridae. Up to now, 16 described species have been recorded worldwide, and although it occurs in all fauna regions, it is most diverse in the subtropics and tropics, particularly in Africa and Asia. This genus is recorded for the first time in the Korean fauna based on the discovery of a nominated species, Brachydeutera meridionalis (Rondani, 1856). Diagnoses, figures of morphological features, and an ecological photograph of the firstly recorded species are provided herein.

The genus Norbanus Walker 1843 (Pteromalidae: Pteromalinae) consists of 38 species distributed worldwide. Among them, 13 species have been described from the West and Central Palaearctic (Noyes 2003). Norbanus is one of several pteromalid genera that shares the character of a narrow spicula on the clava. In Korea, only one species in the genus Norbanus is recorded. In this study, we report Norbanus meridionalis for the first time in South Koera. We provided description and diagonostic illustration of Norbanus meridionalis.

Ramulus mikado (Rehn, 1904) is an environmentally problematic species that has recently caused a severe outbreak on the mountainsides of the Seoul metropolitan area, resulting in significant damage to forests and causing inconvenience to people in the city centre vicinity. In this investigation, we analysed the genetic diversity through sampling in the outbreak region. The outcomes confirmed the efficiency of COI for species identification and the usefulness of haplotype analysis in examining regional variation.

Opostegidae is a microlepidopteran family (Lepidoptera: Nepticuloidea) that includes almost 190 species belonging to eight genera worldwide. Since Shin recorded Opostegoides Kozlov in Korea, only two species of the genus have been recorded in Korea among the family. We found the genus Pseudopostega Kozlov, 1988 from Gangwon-do Jeongseon. This study reports the genus Pseudopostega Kozlov, 1985, for the first time. Illustrations of adult and genitalisa are also provided.

The small-sized water strider genus Rhagadotarsus Breddin is known to be widely distributed in Southeast Asia. In a recent survey, we found Rhagadotarsus kraepelini Breddin from Gyeongsangbuk province. This species is known to non-native species in Japan. We provide descriptions and photographs of the external morphology of R. kraepelini. And a key to genera of Korean Gerridae is also provided to facilitate identification.

The genus Hilara is one of the largest group in the family Empididae. It is usually found on the water surface, banks of rivers, streams, lakes or ponds and damp forests. The genus Hilara was established by Meigen in 1822, based on the type species Hilara maura (Fabricius, 1776). In this study, the genus Hilara is reported for the first time in Korea. A total of 6 species was recognozed in korea. Amog them, 3 new species of the genus Hilara Meigen: Hilara sp. nov. 1, Hilara sp. nov. 2 and Hilara sp. nov. 3 Hilara sp. nov. 4 and Hilara sp. nov. 5 are described as new to science. Also, one species, Hilara echinata Frey, is reported for the first time from korea. Adults and genitalia were examined and illustrated with a key to the genus Hilara in Korea and DNA barcodes, when available.

Stilbene-based fluorescent brighteners (FB) have been shown to enhance insecticidal activities of entomopathogenic viruses but little is known its effect on entomopathogenic bacteria. We investigated the effect of two FBs (FB 28 and FB 71) on the insecticidal activity of B. thuringiensis var. kurstaki (Btk) as well as the Lymantria dispar multiple nuclear polyhedrosis virus (LdMNPV) in Lymantria dispar asiatica. FB 28 increased the mortality at the combination with low concentration (1.6×102 IU/ml) of Btk, but FB 71 slightly reduced the mortality with middle and high concentrations (1.6×103 and 1.6×104 IU/ml) of Btk in comparison to Btk alone. Both FB 28 and FB 71 increased mortality in combination with LdMNPV at all concentrations (3×102, 3×104, and 3×106 POBs/ml) compared to LdMNPV alone. Our findings suggest that FBs enhanced pathogenic activities but depend on chemical nature of FBs.

The Asian longhorned tick, Haemaphysalis longicornis, is an ectoparasite of domestic and wild animals, which transmit various pathogens including Severe Fever with Thrombocytopenia Syndrome Virus (SFTSV). They are the predominant hard tick species in Republic of Korea (ROK) and widely distributed throughout ROK. It is known that H. longicornis produce their offspring via two reproductive strategies, bisexual and parthenogenesis. It might affect their population maintenance and vectorial capacity. Parthenogenesis H. longicornis had the insertion of two thymine ‘T’ in mitochondrial 16s rDNA. In this study, we analyzed the proportion of bisexual and parthenogenesis H. longicornis in ROK including thirteen cities: Goseong[GS], Sokcho[SC], Chuncheon[CC], Ganghwa[GH], Samcheok[SCH], Sangju[SJ], Boryeong[BR], Ulsan[US], Gochang[GC], Jinju[JNJ], Jindo[JD], Jeju[JJ], and Seogwipo[SG]. Parthenogenesis individuals predominated from the northeastern are of ROK including Goseong, Sokcho, Chuncheon, Ganghwa, Samcheok, Sangju, Ulsan, and Jinju. Whereas bisexual individuals predominated from the southwestern area in ROK including Boryeong, Gochang, Jindo, Jeju, and Seogwipo. The analysis of haplotype diversity using concatenated sequences of mitochondrial Cytochrome c oxidase subunit I (COI) and Cytochrome B (CytB) revealed that H. longicornis were grouped into two major haplotypes. Two major haplotypes were correlated with bisexual and parthenogenesis, respectively. Likewise, H. longicornis individuals were divided into two clades and each clade were indicated by bisexual and parthenogenesis. The current study provides us an understanding of the genetic characteristics of two reproductive strategies for H. longicornis, which will be led to expand knowledge of the life cycle and population maintaining for H. longicornis.

An outbreak of stick insects, Ramulus mikado, as forest pests in South Korea has become a topic of concern. While other countries have reported these insects being severely affected by the entomopathogenic fungus Metarhizium spp., comprehensive research in South Korea remains limited on this topic. In our two-year investigation, we investigated the infection rate and mortality of R. mikado caused by Metarhizium anisopliae. In 2022, specimens were collected from Cheonggyesan, and in 2023 from Geumamsan. Although no infections were confirmed in the specimens collected in June of both years. Beginning in July, mortality and infection rates were greatly increased. In conclusion, the summer monsoon appears to create hot and humid conditions in the forest, contributing to reduced survival rates for these insects due to infection by M. anisopliae.

Rice serves as the staple food for many Asian countries. However, it faces a significant threat from various Hemiptera species, including Nilaparvata lugens, Sogatella furcifera, Laodelphax striatellus, and Nephotettix cincticeps, which can cause devastating diseases. These species are economically significant pests of rice. Traditional morphology-based methods have proven inefficient in accurately distinguishing these pests at the species level. In this study, we present a successful approach for designing species-specific primers and their application in both general and multiplex PCR as well as loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP) assays, widely adopted molecular tools for species identification. Each primer set incorporates a species-specific sequence of at least 2 base pairs in both the forward and reverse primers. These primers have demonstrated exceptional diagnostic accuracy in conventional and multiplex PCR. Additionally, our study showcases the high sensitivity of LAMP, successfully achieving positive amplification with genomic DNA quantities ranging from 100pg to 10pg. In summary, these techniques provide an efficient means of diagnosing planthoppers in a large number of field-collected or individual samples.

담배가루이(Bemisia tabaci)는 국내 주요 농업 해충으로서 고추, 오이, 토마토 등의 시설재배 작물에 큰 피해를 입힌다. 담배가루이는 작물을 흡즙하여 식물체의 상태를 악화시키고 TYLCV(tomato yellow leaf curl virus)등 100 여 종의 바이러스를 매개하며, 배설물을 통해 그을음병을 유발한다. 가장 일반적인 담배가루이의 방제방법은 빠르고 높은 효과를 지닌 살충제 살포이다. 하지만, 지속적인 화학적 방제는 해충의 살충제 저항성을 야기한다. 살충제 저항성은 방제 효율 감소와 농가의 경제적 손실을 일으킨다. 본 연구는 국내 지역별 시설 고추 재배지에서 발생한 담배가루이의 약제별 저항성을 조사하여, 지역별로 효과적인 약제 선정 및 대체 약제 추천 등 지속 가능한 해충관리법을 제시하고자 한다. 담배가루이는 전국 13개(파주, 양평, 화성, 횡성, 당진, 천안, 공주, 예천, 구미, 사천, 남원, 나주, 고흥) 지역에서 채집되었다. 작용기작 별 사용량이 많은 8종을 선정하였으며, 엽침지법을 사용 하여 살충률을 확인하였다. 곤충생장조절제(insect growth regulators, IGR)인 피리프록시펜계 약제는 알을 대상 으로, 그 외 7개 약제는 2령약충을 대상으로 살충률을 확인하였다. 높은 살충력을 보인 약제는 아버멕틴, 밀베마 이신계, 스피노신계, METI살충제, 디아마이드계 약제이다. 아버멕틴, 밀베마이신계는 권장사용농도로 처리 시 최소 84.5%, 최대 100% 살충률을 보였다. 스피노신계는 최소 86.3%, 최대 90.6% 살충률을 보였으나 천안, 파주, 사천에서 각각 59.7%, 66.6%, 79%로 다른 지역에 비해 상대적으로 낮은 살충률을 보였다. METI살충제는 최소 81.1%, 최대 98% 살충률을 보였으나 나주, 예천, 천안, 사천이 각각 61.6%, 68.8%, 68.9%, 69.2%의 상대적으로 낮은 살충률을 보였다. 디아마이드계는 최소 83.9%, 최대 91.9% 살충률을 보였으나 천안과 구미가 각각 56.6%, 59.8%로 상대적으로 낮은 살충률을 보였다. 낮은 살충력을 보인 약제는 네오니코티노이드계, 설폭시민계, 테트 론산 및 테트람산 유도체, 피리프록시펜계 약제이다. 네오니코티노이드계는 최소 14.1%, 최대 41.9% 살충률을 보였다. 설폭시민계는 최소 17%, 최대 42.8% 살충률을 보였다. 테트론산 및 테트람산 유도체는 최소 30.5%, 최대 54.9% 살충률을 보였으나 천안이 14.4%로 특히 낮은 살충률을 보였다. 피리프록시펜계는 최소 55.3%, 최대 64.3% 살충률을 보였으나 횡성이 72.2%로 상대적으로 높은 살충률을 보였으며, 파주가 35%로 상대적으로 낮은 살충률을 보였다. 실험 결과를 통해 살충제 별 살충력의 차이와 지역별로 살충률의 차이를 확인하였다. 본 연구결 과를 통해 효과적인 약제 추천과 지역에 따라 다른 방제 전략 제시에 도움이 되고자 한다.

Riptortus pedestris has established symbiotic interactions with specific bacteria from soil environment in every generations. The soil environment is extremely heterogeneous with microbial diversity, suggesting that bacterial composition of the R. pedestris can be affected by surrounding environments. Therefore, we investigated spatiotemporal variation of bacterial communities in wild R. pedestris collected from five mainland areas and Jeju Island in South Korea across insect generations. Among the 390 R. pedestris adults collected, we detected a total of 28 bacterial genera from the symbiotic region of insects. Among the bacterial genera, genus Caballeronia bacteria was the most abundantly detected regardless of sampling site and generation. Nevertheless, bacterial richness varied among the insect generations with 10 genera detected in overwintered generation, 15 genera in the 1st generation and 18 genera in the 2nd generation. Moreover, we found five bacterial genera that were exclusively detected from the Jeju island compared to the mainland areas surveyed.