• Mycobiology
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• v.43 no.4
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• pp.458-466
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• 2015

Oak tree death caused by symbiosis of an ambrosia beetle, Platypus koryoensis, and an ophiostomatoid filamentous fungus, Raffaelea quercus-mongolicae, has been a nationwide problem in Korea since 2004. In this study, we surveyed the yeast species associated with P. koryoensis to better understand the diversity of fungal associates of the beetle pest. In 2009, a total of 195 yeast isolates were sampled from larvae and adult beetles (female and male) of P. koryoensis in Cheonan, Goyang, and Paju; 8 species were identified by based on their morphological, biochemical and molecular analyses. Meyerozyma guilliermondii and Candida kashinagacola were found to be the two dominant species. Among the 8 species, Candida homilentoma was a newly recorded yeast species in Korea, and thus, its mycological characteristics were described. The P. koryoensis symbiont R. quercusmongolicae did not show extracelluar CM-cellulase, xylanase and avicelase activity that are responsible for degradation of wood structure; however, C. kashinagacola and M. guilliermondii did show the three extracellular enzymatic activities. Extracelluar CM-cellulase activity was also found in Ambrosiozyma sp., C. homilentoma, C. kashinagacola, and Candida sp. Extracelluar pectinase activity was detected in Ambrosiozyma sp., C. homilentoma, Candida sp., and M. guilliermondii. All the 8 yeast species displayed compatible relationships with R. quercus-mongolicae when they were co-cultivated on yeast extract-malt extract plates. Overall, our results demonstrated that P. koryoensis carries the yeast species as a symbiotic fungal associate. This is first report of yeast diversity associated with P. koryoensis.

• Mycobiology
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• v.48 no.2
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• pp.139-147
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• 2020

Root-feeding Scarabaeidae, particularly white grubs are considered among the most harmful coleopteran insect pests in turfgrass. In this work, sixteen entomopathogenic fungal species were assayed against flower chafer beetle, Protaetia brevitarsis (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae) and Metarhizium anisopliae JEF-314 showed high virulence. The control ability of the isolate JEF-314 has been in detail tested for a model insect flower chafer beetle. Further analyses showed insect stage-dependent virulence where the fungal virulence was the highest against smaller instar larvae. Additionally, we confirmed that millet-based solid cultured granule was effective against the soil-dwelling larval stage. The isolate also showed a similar ability for a representative pest (Popillia spp.) in laboratory conditions. Our results clearly suggest a high potential of M. anisopliae JEF-314 to control the flower chafer beetle, possibly resulting in controlling of root-feeding white grubs in turfgrass. Based on the insect life cycle and susceptibility to the fungus, late spring and summer time would be the optimum time to apply JEF-314 granules for an effective control. Further characterization of the efficacy of the fungus under field conditions against the Scarabaeidae beetles might provide an efficient tool to control this beetle in an environment-friendly way.

• Korean Journal of Environmental Biology
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• v.23 no.1
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• pp.71-88
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• 2005

This study has been monthly carried out to investigate the community structure and seasonal variations of Coleoptera from April to September, 2004 in Mt. Yeonyeop area, Gangwon-do, Korea. A total of 3053 individuals belonging to 358 species in 49 families have been collected in the studied area by light trap, pitfall trap and sweeping methods. The abundant families, based on the number of species, were Carabidae (50 species), Chrysomelidae (40 species) and Curculionidae (40 species). The number of species were highest at site 4, located in low altitude and contained stream. The number of individuals were highest at site 2, because many beetles were attracted by pitfall traps. The total number of species and individuals was highest in July. Nicrophorus (Nicrophorus) quadripunctatus (13.00%) was a dominant species and Synuchus (Synuchus) cycloderus (7.17%) was sub dominant species. Especially Damaster mirabilissimus mirabilissimus, a protected species by government, was collected in May.

• Conservation Science in Museum
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• v.18
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• pp.1-18
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• 2017

This study investigated the techniques applied in the manufacturing of the horse trappings with jewel beetle adornment excavated from Geumgwanchong Tomb, with a focus on the use of jewel beetle wings. It is revealed that the wings of jewel beetles were stripped of their upper skeletal parts and applied as ornamentation under the gilt-bronze openwork plate, and no additional process was applied to improve adhesion. The horse trappings from Geumgwanchong Tomb include saddles, stirrups, horse strap pendants, and bamboo mudguards, but most of the components except the stirrups are failing or lost, making it difficult to identify the manufacturing techniques. The techniques used to affix the jewel beetle wings vary depending on the support materials. Small chisels were used to fix the jewel beetle wings to the stirrups and saddle made of wooden supports. In the case of the bamboo mudguards and metal artifacts, the wings were fixed with lacquer and then combined with the gilt-bronze openwork plate using pressure.

• Journal of Korean Society of Forest Science
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• v.95 no.5
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• pp.543-550
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• 2006

Distribution patterns of two pine sawyer species (Monochamus alternatus which is the main vector insect and M. saltuarius which is the potential insect vector of the pine wood nematode) were investigated in Korea. The data were collected at 89 study sites which were chosen to cover the whole region of South Korea. The selected pine trees were killed in early April and left for I year in the pine stands to be egg-laid by the pine sawyers. Emergence of the beetles from the dead pine trees was checked from early April to late July. M. saltuarius was the most abundant in the mid to northern areas of South Korea, whereas M. alternatus in Jeju-do, southernmost island of Korea. Considering temperature distribution patterns in areas where the two species occur, their thermal distribution boundary may be formed around $13.2^{\circ}C$ of annual mean temperature. The hypothesized distribution map of the two Monochamus species under the invasion of pine wilt disease is suggested on the base of thermal distribution of Korean peninsula.

• International Journal of Industrial Entomology and Biomaterials
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• v.22 no.2
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• pp.65-74
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• 2011

The Scarites aterrimus (Coleoptera: Carabidae), is one of the carabid beetles dwelling exclusively on coastal sandy dunes. Habitat deterioration and equivalent activity have greatly concerned population declines in several species dwelling on the coastal sandy dunes. As a first step to establish long-term conservation strategy, we investigated the nation-wide magnitude and nature of genetic diversity of the species. As a first step, we sequenced a portion of mitochondrial COI gene, corresponding to "DNA Barcode" region (658 bp) from a total of 24 S. aterrimus individuals collected over nine sandy dunes belonging to four Korean provinces. The sequence analysis evidenced moderate to low magnitude of sequence diversity compared with other insect species distributed in Korean peninsula (0.152% to 0.912%). The presence of closely related haplotypes and relatively high gene flow estimate collectively suggest that there had been no historical barriers that bolster genetic subdivision. Population decline was postulated on the basis of several missing haplotypes that are well found in the species with a large population size. This interpretation is consistent with field observation of small population size in the coastal sandy dune habitats. The highest genetic diversity estimates were found in the coastal sand dune population of Seogwipo, Jeju Island, justifying a prior attention to the population, in order to sustain overall genetic diversity of the species. Further scrutinized study might be required for further robust conclusion.

• Korean journal of applied entomology
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• v.58 no.3
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• pp.189-196
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• 2019

While the darkling beetle, Alphitobius diaperinus (Panzer) (Coleoptera: Tenebrionidae) is considered a pest of stored products, it does not pose a significant economic threat to this industry. The grains these beetles feeding on are often already damaged. However, the beetle is now being treated as the foremost premise pest in the poultry industry in many countries of the world. Recently, the darkling beetle has also infested in broiler chicken houses of Korea. The problems caused by this pest destroy the insulate facilities of poultry houses, reduce chick's overall performance, transmit pathogenic organisms, and have been leading to substantial economic losses for poultry producers. Therefore, we conducted surveys on the status of infestation and damage of this pest in broiler chicken houses. Because there is no simple one step process that will completely eliminate darkling beetle populations from broiler facilities, we would like to outline further studies on the proper control measures.

• Korean journal of applied entomology
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• v.58 no.1
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• pp.31-35
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• 2019

Many forest pests have caused problems for wood quarantine. The fumigation activity of phosphine ($PH_3$) was examined for the adults of three wood-boring insect pests. The $LCT_{99}$ values for Platypus koryoensis, Cryphalus fulvus, and Xyleborus mutilates were 3.192, 0.994, and $0.501mg{\cdot}h/L$ at $20^{\circ}C$, respectively. The effectiveness of $PH_3$ was increasingly time dependent for all doses tested in all three species. In particular, P. koryoensis showed 100% mortality at doses higher than 0.4 mg/L 7 days after fumigation. These results indicate that methyl bromide could be substituted for $PH_3$ for adults of these three species of wood pest.

• Korean journal of applied entomology
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• v.61 no.4
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• pp.623-631
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• 2022

The family Ptiliidae (Insecta: Coleoptera) has approximately 1,000 valid species in 100 recognized genera. Ptiliid beetles are readily collected from various habitats. They can be distinguished by feather-like hindwings and small body sizes. The genus Acrotrichis is the largest ptiliid genus. It contains almost a quarter of all ptiliids. In Korea, a single species of Acrotrichis lewisii (Matthews, 1884b) was recently reported in 2020. In this paper, we report two additional species, A. thoracica (Waltl, 1838) and A. grandicollis (Mannerheim, 1844) from the Korean Peninsula, collected during an assessment of biological variation in agricultural land of Jeju Island. Illustrations of habitus and diagnostic characters, distribution map and a key to Korean Acrotrichis species are provided.

• Korean Journal of Ecology and Environment
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• v.56 no.4
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• pp.303-319
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• 2023

Pitfall traps that use ethylene glycol as a preservative solution are commonly used in arthropod research. However, a recent surge in cases involving damage to these traps by roe deer or wild boars owing to the sweet taste of ethylene glycol has prompted the addition of quinone sulfate, a substance with a pungent taste, to deter such wildlife interference. This study aimed to assess the effects of quinone sulfate on arthropods collected from pitfall traps containing ethylene glycol. We strategically positioned 50 traps using ethylene glycol alone and 50 traps containing a small amount of quinone sulfate mixed with ethylene glycol in a grid pattern for systematic sampling at the Gwangneung Forest long-term ecological research (LTER) site. Traps were collected 10 days later. The results revealed a notable effect on ants when quinone sulfate was introduced. Specifically, it decreased the number of ants. In a species-specific analysis of ants, only Nylanderia flavipes showed a significant decline in response to quinone sulfate, whereas other ant species remained unaffected. Additionally, among the arthropod samples obtained in this survey, we identified species or morpho-species of spiders, beetles, and ants and assessed species diversity. Consequently, the utilization of quinone sulfate should be undertaken judiciously, taking into account the specific species composition and environmental characteristics of the monitoring site. Our study also highlighted the significant response of various arthropod groups to variations in leaf litter depth, underscoring the crucial role of the leaf litter layer in providing sustenance and shelter for ground-foraging arthropods. Furthermore, we have compiled comprehensive species lists of both spiders and ants in Gwangneung forest by amalgamating data from this investigation with findings from previous studies.