The Silphidae Latreille, 1806 was reviewed as 26 species of 9 genera from Korea. In this study, we report a new subspecies, Silpha perforata jejuensis ssp. nov, from Is. Jeju and taxonomic revision of the family Silphidae in Korean Peninsula. We provide descriptions, Photograph of morphological and genital structures and a key of Korean species.

Changes in insect communities are one of the best indicators of environmental changes. A survey was conducted using the Flight Interception Trap (FIT) method to check the changes of species composition and abundance of silphids at Mt. Sokrisan National Park from April to October in 2003 to 2007. A total of9,704 individuals of six silphid species were examined by FIT. Among them, Nicrophorus quadripunctatus was the most dominant species with 8,763 (90.3%) individuals. There were only 971 (9.7%) individuals of the other five species. The seasonal abundance of silphids peaked in July and August. The annual abundance has decreased gradually since 2004. Therefore, the changing patterns of species composition and abundance of silphids checked by long-term monitoring could be used as environmental indicators which indirectly show the environmental changes of Mt. Sokrisan National Park.

Nicrophorus concolor Kraatz is a large burying beetle widely distributed in East Asia including Japan, and well known for the habit of burying dead small vertebrates to feed their offspring. Taxonomic research on hististomatid deutonymphs phoretic on this beetle has revealed that they are classified into seven distinct species all new to science, one of which was already described by us under the name Pelzneria uncinata. Now, we give an account of another new species of Pelzneria phoretic on N. concolor in Japan, mainland China and Taiwan. The deutonymphs of the new species are found frequently together with P. uncinata, but, unlike this species, in various, more or less cryptic places on the body surface of the beetle, which indicates that the new species does not show distinct preference of location on the host beetle. The present new species is easily distinguished from the known congeners by hysterosomal dorsum with anterior margin widely and arcuately protruded medially and crenate laterally, unusual forward displacement of dorsal hysterosomal setae d1, notably stout setae f, p and r on tarsus III, extremely long terminal seta e on tarsus IV, and so forth. The feeding stages of this mite are considered to feed on the carcasses of small vertebrates buried by adult N. concolor.