This research introduces the subfamily Catotrichinae to the South Korean fauna for the first time. Within the globally recognized 6,651 Cecidomyiidae species, only ten are categorized under the Catotrichinae subfamily. Notably, this subfamily, which ingests fungi during larval development, is among the most primordial lineages of the Cecidomyiidae, both in morphological and molecular terms. The species Catoricha nipponensis of Catotrichinae was newly observed in Yeongwol, Gangwon-do, in October 2021. It was recorded for the first time in Korea, with its holotype initially collected in Honshu, Japan, in November 1923. This study provides the diagnosis, photographs of distinguishing characteristics, and the DNA barcode sequences for Catotricha nipponensis. This work was supported by a grant from the National Institute of Biological Resources (NIBR), funded by the Ministry of Environment (MOE) of the Republic of Korea.

Pine tree, a dominant species in the flora of Korea is the most beloved tree in Korea. However, recent outbreak of pine wilt disease caused by the pine wood nematode (PWN) Bursaphelenchus xylophilus threatens the vegetation of Pinus species seriously. Furthermore, Pinus densiflora and P. thunbergii, the predominant species in Korea forest are highly susceptible to PWN. Therefore, there has been an urgent demand for the development of a new nematocidal compounds to control PWN, which spurred the national research for the development of new compounds. To find novel sources for nematocidal agents, we used various plant resources for the development. In addition to the foreign plant extracts themselves, we also used the extracts of endophytes composed of over 300 endophytic fungi and 1,000 endophytic bacteria from plants which was reported to contain nematocidal activity. Several extracts of endophytes and plant extracts contained strong nematocidal activity, and the resources are analyzed to identify the active nematocidal compounds. These integrated approach of finding effective nematocidal compounds from plants could be a novel way to elucidate the sources for brand-new nematocidal agents.