Metcalfa pruinosa is an invasive planthopper that has rapidly spread across South Korea since its first detection in 2005. Long-term suppression is difficult using chemical control alone. This study developed a cocoon-based outdoor release technique for the parasitoid Neodryinus typhlocybae, a major natural enemy of M. pruinosa, and analyzed the seasonal occurrence patterns of both species while evaluating the establishment and parasitism of N. typhlocybae across multiple regions. A rain-shielded release device was designed to facilitate adult emergence and escape, resulting in emergence from more than 75% of the cocoons and the successful escape of 88.9% of the emerged adults. The optimal timing for parasitoid release was identified as mid-to-late June when 4th-instar M. pruinosa nymphs are predominant, while parasitism assessments were best conducted in mid-to-late July during the 5th-instar stage. Between 2024 and 2025, N. typhlocybae cocoons were detected in eight municipalities across five provinces. Notably, cocoon densities reached 8.2 cocoons per 20 leaves in Jangseong in 2024 and 3.2 cocoons in Asan in 2025, clearly demonstrating successful parasitism and overwintering under Korean field conditions. Cocoons also persisted at sites where releases were conducted between 2020 and 2022, without additional releases. No significant relationships were observed between cocoon density and release amount, region, or year, suggesting that host density, microclimate, and other field-level environmental factors have greater influences on parasitism outcomes. This study provides key foundational data supporting the practical implementation of N. typhlocybae for the biological control of M. pruinosa in South Korea.

The house fly, Musca domestica L. is a serious cosmopolitan pest in livestock production systems. Poultry farmers employ various techniques to control them but rely heavily on the use of chemicals which has the serious drawback of the target pest becoming resistant. We have selected two native natural enemies in Gyeonggi area where selected for the biological control of the house fly. Carcinops pumilio (Erichson) (Coleoptera: Histeridae), commonly found in poultry manure, is an important predator of house fly eggs and larvae. The substitute food source was developed for the mass rearing of C. pumilio. Spalangia nigroaenea (Hymenoptera: Pteromalidae) not only parasitized the host to produce its progeny but also killed host pupae by feeding. The parasitoid induced mortality had an effect on the parasitoid-to-host density relationships.

The brown marmorated stink bug (BMSB), Halyomorpha halys (Hemiptera: Pentatomidae), is an invasive insect pest from Eastern Asia. Since its invasion into North America during the late 1990s, frequent outbreaks of BMSB have caused considerable economic damage to orchards, field crops, and vegetables. Currently, management practices in the United States rely on insecticides to control BMSB. Therefore, identification of potential natural enemies of BMSB is crucial to justify integrated pest management (IPM). We investigated the viability of using the spined soldier bug, Podisus maculiventris (Hemiptera: Pentatomidae), as a potential biological control agent for BMSB. In this study, we used choice and non-choice tests to determine which life stages of the spined soldier bug can effectively kill specific stages of BMSB using videography. Prey searching and feeding behavior of the spined soldier bug and defensive behavior of BMSB were analyzed. Our study showed that BMSB eggs and nymphs attacked by the spined soldier bug had a mortality rate of 100%. We also observed that all first instar BMSB remained on the egg cluster allowing the spined soldier bug to attack and kill many BMSB during one feeding session. The results indicate that the spined soldier bug has the potential for killing BMSB

Predation, development, and ovipostion experiments were conducted to evaluate Amblyseius swirskii (Athias-Henriot) (Acari: Phytoseiidae) as a potential biological control agent for tomato russet mite, Aculops lycopersici (Massee) (Acari: Eriophyidae) which is a periodic pest of greenhouse tomatoes. Results show that A. swirskii attacked all developmental stages of A. lycopersici, and had a type II functional response on the prey densities given. The predation rates of A. swirskii on A. lycopersici in the presense of alternative food sources such as pollen, thrips first instar, or whitefly eggs were recorded as 74%, 56%, and 76%, respectively of the predation rate on A. lycopersici alone. Amblyseius swirskii successfully completed their life-cycle on either A. lycopersici or cattail pollen. At 25oC, 70% RH, development time of female A. swirskii fed on A. lycopersici or on cattail pollen took 5.0 and 6.2 days, respectively. For the first 10 days after moulting to the adult stage, A. swirskii fed on A. lycopersici had higher daily oviposition rate (2.0 eggs per day) than on pollen (1.5 eggs per day). From this laboratory study, it can be concluded that A. swirskii has promising traits as a predator against A. lycopersici and that their populations can be stably maintained using alternative food such as cattail pollen. We suggest that the effectiveness of A. swirskii against A. lycopersici under field conditions deserves to be investigated.