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A genus Castanopsides Yasunaga (Hemiptera: Heteroptera: Miridae: Mirinae) is reviewed from the Korean Peninsula. Castanopsides falkovitshi (Kerzhner 1979) is reported for the first time. Descriptions of male genitalia, diagnoses, and a key to the Korean Castanopsides are provided with illustrations and photographs.

The hornets Vespa crabro and V. analis are widely distributed in Asia and are known to be aggressive when disturbed, resulting in frequent stinging accidents. To investigate the differences in venom properties and toxicities between these two hornets, the transcriptomic profiles of venom glands, in conjunction with the venom components, were analyzed and compared. A total of 35 venom-specific genes were identified in both venom gland transcriptomes, but their transcriptional profiles were different between V. crabro and V. analis. In addition, the major venom components were identified and confirmed by mass spectroscopy. Prepromastoparan, vespid chemotactic peptide precursor and vespakinin were the top three genes most prevalently transcribed in the venom gland of V. crabro, and their transcription rates were 112-, 16- and 161-fold higher, respectively, compared with those in V. analis, as judged by FPKM values. In the venom gland of V. analis, however, vespid chemotactic peptide precursor was the most abundantly transcribed gene, followed by premastoparan and vespakinin. In general, most major venom genes were more abundantly expressed in V. crabro, whereas some minor venom genes exhibited higher transcription rates in V. analis, including muscle LIM protein, troponin, paramyosin, calponin, etc. Our findings reveal that the overall venom components of V. crabro and V. analis are similar, but that their expression profiles and levels are considerably different. The comparison of venom gland transcriptomes suggests that V. crabro likely produces venom with more highly enriched major venom components, which has potentially higher toxicity compared with V. analis venom.

Vespa crabro and V. analis are social hornet species commonly found in Asia, including Korea. Mastoparan is one of the major venom peptides of these two hornets but its amino acid sequence defers substantially. To examine the differences in the potential toxicity and bioactivity of mastoparans between these two social hornets, differential toxicological and pharmacological activities of synthesized mastoparan were investigated. V. analis mastoparan showed a 7-fold higher hemolytic activity, suggesting its higher cytotoxic potential compared with V. crabro mastoparan. Mastoparans from both hornet species exhibited similar levels of antimicrobial activities against Staphylococcus aureus and Botrytis cinerea, whereas the mastoparan from V. analis showed more potent antimicrobial activities against Escherichia coli and Candida albicans. Nevertheless, the antimicrobial activities of mastoparans of V. crabro and V. analis were relatively lower compared with those of other wasps. Both mastoparans also exhibited some levels of antitumor activity but the activity was significantly higher in V. analis mastoparan. In summary, the hemolytic, antimicrobial, and antitumor activities of synthesized V. analis mastoparan were higher than those of V. crabro mastoparan. These differential bioactivities are likely due to the amino acid sequence differences in the mature peptides. In particular, the additional Lys residue present in V. analis mastoparan may contribute to the higher levels of bioactivity as proposed by secondary structure prediction.

We report new host records of four ichneumonids from Korea. They were discovered from the pupae of Apatura metis Frever (Lepidoptera: Nymphalidae), Allotraeus sphaerioninus Bates (Coleoptera: Cerambycidae) and Ivela auripes (Butler) (Lepidoptera: Lymantriidae) respectively. Diagnoses, illustrations, host records of the four species, and a list of ichneumon species parasitizing of I. auripes are provided.

Twenty-one species of the four genera in the family Braconidae (Hymenoptera) are reported for the first time in Korea. These species belong to the subfamily Euphorinae (Braconidae). Faunistic and distribution data are included.

Ticks were collected from 35 animals from 5 provinces and 3 metropolitan cities during 2012. Ticks also were collected by tick drag from 4 sites in Gyeonggi-do (2) and Jeollabuk-do (2) Provinces. A total of 612 ticks belonging to 6 species and 3 genera were collected from mammals and a bird (n=573) and by tick drag (n=39). Haemaphyalis longicornis (n=434) was the most commonly collected tick, followed by H. flava (158), Ixodes nipponensis (11), Amblyomma testudinarium (7), H. japonica (1), and H. formosensis (1). H. longicornis and H. flava were collected from all animal hosts examined. For animal hosts (n>1), the highest Tick Index (TI) was observed for domestic dogs (29.6), followed by Siberian roe deer (17.4), water deer (14.4), and raccoon dogs (1.3). A total of 402 H. longicornis (adults 86, 21.4%; nymphs 160, 39.8%; larvae 156, 38.9%) were collected from wild and domestic animals. A total of 158 H. flava (n=158) were collected from wild and domestic animals and 1 ring-necked pheasant, with a higher proportion of adults (103, 65.2%), while nymphs and larvae only accounted for 12.7% (20) and 22.2% (35), respectively. Only 7 A. testudinarium were collected from the wild boar (6 adults) and Eurasian badger (1 nymph), while only 5 I. nipponensis were collected from the water deer (4 adults) and a raccoon dog (1 adult). One adult female H. formosensis was first collected from vegetation by tick drag from Mara Island, Seogwipo-si, Jeju-do Province.

There are 60 species of blood-feeding land leeches, 50 species belonging to the family Haemadipsidae and 10 species belonging to the family Xerobdellidae. Despite recent papers on the land leeches, their taxonomic identification is not fully understood, especially at a species level. In Korea, there have been no historical records of the terrestrial leeches, but recently an unrecorded blood-feeding land leech was discovered at Gageo-do (Island), Korea. Molecular analysis was used to identify the species of 29 leeches collected from Mt. Dock-Sil in Gageo-do. Conventional PCR was conducted using nuclear 18S rRNA and mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase subunit 1 (CO1) genetic marker. The 18S rRNA sequences revealed that the leeches share 99.9% identity with Haemadipsa rjukjuana (inhabiting Taiwan), and the CO1 sequences revealed that the leeches are very close to H. rjukjuana (inhabiting Taiwan). The CO1 sequences were separated into 2 categories, 1 with 94.6% and the other with 94.3% similarity to the H. rjukjuana L00115A (inhabiting Taiwan). This new finding of the land leech is the first record in Korea. In addition, the north range of the distribution of the blood-feeding leech (Hirudiniformes: Haemadipisidae) should be reconsidered including Korea.

In this study, we sequenced both two mitochondrial genes (COI and 16S rRNA) and nuclear genes (28S rRNA and elongation factor-1α) from 71 species of Odonata that represent 7 superfamilies in 3 suborders. Phylogenetic testing for each two concatenated gene sequences based on function (ribosomal vs protein-coding genes) and origin (mitochondrial vs nuclear genes) proved limited resolution. Thus, four concatenated sequences were utilized to test the previous phylogenetic hypotheses of higher taxa of Odonata via Bayesian inference (BI) and maximum likelihood (ML) algorithms, along with the data partition by the BI method. As a result, three slightly different topologies were obtained, but the BI tree without partition was slightly better supported by the topological test. This topology supported the suborders Anisoptera and Zygoptera each being a monophyly, and the close relationship of Anisozygoptera to Anisoptera. All the families represented by multiple taxa in both Anisoptera and Zygoptera were consistently revealed to each be a monophyly with the highest nodal support. Unlike consistent and robust familial relationships in Zygoptera those of Anisoptera were partially unresolved, presenting the following relationships: ((((Libellulidae + Corduliidae) + Macromiidae) + Gomphidae + Aeshnidae) + Anisozygoptera) + (((Coenagrionidae + Platycnemdidae) + Calopterygidae) + Lestidae). The subfamily Sympetrinae, represented by three genera in the anisopteran family Libellulidae, was not monophyletic, dividing Crocothemis and Deielia in one group together with other subfamilies and Sympetrum in another independent group.

Two species of the genus Asiacentistes (Hymenoptera: Braconidae) are reported in this study. One of them, Asiacentistes sinica Chen and Belokobylskij is new to Korea. Diagnosis and distribution data in East Asia are included.

Two species of the subgenus Exosyntretus (Hymenoptera: Braconidae: Euphorinae) in the genus Syntretus are reported from Korea in this study. Among them, Syntretus (Exosyntretus) nevelskoii Belokobylskij is new to Korea. The world checklist, diagnosis and distribution data are included.

In this study, we present the nearly complete mitogenome sequences of the garden chafer, Polyphylla laticollis manchurica, which is listed as an endangered species in Korea. The P. l. manchurica mitogenome, which includes unfinished whole A+T-rich region and a partial srRNA was 14,473-bp long, possessing typical sets of genes (13 PCGs, 22 tRNA genes, and 2 rRNA genes). Gene arrangement of the P. l. manchurica mitogenome was identical to the common one found in the majority of insects. The 5 bp-long motif sequence (TAGTA) that has been suggested to be the possible binding site for the transcription termination peptide for the major-strand was also found in the P. l. manchurica mitogenome between tRNA Ser (UCN) and ND1. The start codon for COI gene and ATPase8 was designated as a typical TTG. All tRNAs of the P. l. manchurica showed a stable canonical clover-leaf structure of other mt tRNAs, except for tRNA Ser (AGN), DHU arm of which could not form stable stemloop structure. As has been previously determined, the high A/T content was unanimously observed in P. l. manchurica in terms of A/T bias in the third codon position (73.5%) compared with the first (66.4%) and second codon position (66.2%). The PCGs encoded in major-strands are slightly T-skewed, whereas those of the minor-strand are A-skewed, indicating strand asymmetry in nucleotide composition in the Coleoptera including P. l.

The dung beetle, Copris tripartitus (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae), is an endangered insect in Korea. In order to establish a conservation strategy, a preliminary investigation on the genetic diversity of Korean populations was performed using mitochondrial COI (658 bp), CytB (433 bp), and nuclear ITS2 (411 nucleotide positions). Sequencing of 69 individuals collected from five localities showed substantially higher variability (5.02% for COI, 4.62% for CytB, and 8.03% for ITS2). The resulting networks for mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) haplotypes exhibited two star-like phylogenies, which might indicate that Korean populations have recently expended from two small populations. The ITS2 network, which was presented in the form of a star-like phylogeny, confirmed that a recent population expansion occurred. Considering the high genetic diversity and gene flow in C. tripartitus populations, one issue regarding conservation seems to be the recovery of previous habitats.

In the present study, the jewel beetle Chrysochroa fulgidissima was taxonomically reassessed based on molecular analyses of cytochrome c oxidase subunit I (COI) and 16S ribosomal RNA (16S) gene partial sequences, and morphological approaches, excluding the subspecies Chrysochroa fulgidissima adachii. Molecular (three data sets, COI, 16S, and COI + 16S in mtDNA) and morphological (quantitative and qualitative characters) evidence suggested that Ch. fulgidissima consists of four independent species found in seven geographical regions, namely Korea, Japan and Taiwan, China (GuangXi and Hainan) and Vietnam, and Okinawa Island. As a result of the large genetic divergences and subtle morphological differences amongst these populations, we were able to infer that the nominotypical subspecies, Chrysochroa fulgidissima fulgidissima, is divided into three pseudocryptic species that have undergone allopatric speciation events. Thus, we propose that the subspecies Chrysochroa fulgidissima alternans should be upgraded to valid specific status. We also provide a description of two new species, Chrysochroa coreana sp. nov. from Korea, and Chrysochroa pseudofulgidissima sp. nov. from China and Vietnam. © 2012 The Linnean Society of London, Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society, 2012, 164, 71–98.

In the present study, we report the 16 823-bp long complete mitochondrial genome (mitogenome) of a carabid beetle, Damaster mirabilissimus mirabilissim (Coleoptera: Carabidae), which is endangered in Korea. The gene arrangement of D. m. mirabilissim mitogenome is identical to the most common type found in insects. The start codon of the D. m. mirabilissim COI gene is a typical ATN codon. On the other hand, the initiation codon for ND1 gene is TTG, instead of ATN. All transfer RNAs (tRNAs) exhibit a stable canonical clover-leaf structure, except for tRNASer(AGN), the dihydrouridine arm of which forms a simple loop. The 1703-bp long A+T-rich region is the second longest among the complete adephagan mitogenome sequences, next to Macrogyrus oblongus belonging to Gyrinoidea. One of the unusual features of the genome is the presence of a tRNALeu(UUR)-like sequence in the A+T-rich region. This sequence displays the proper anticodon sequence and the potential to form secondary structures, but also harbors many mismatches in the stems.

Lepidoptera is one of the largest insect orders, but the phylogenetic relationships within this order, have yet to be adequately described. Among these unresolved relationships include those regarding the monophyly of the Macrolepidoptera and interfamilial relationships of the true butterflies superfamily Papilionoidea. We present two new mitochondrial genomes (mitogenomes) belonging to the butterfly family Lycaenidae to explore the phylogenetic relationships existing among lepidopteran superfamilies and true butterfly families from a mitogenome perspective, and to evaluate the characteristics of the lepidopteran mitogenomes. Our consensus phylogeny of the Lepidoptera largely supported the superfamilial relationships (((((Bombycoidea + Geometroidea) + Noctuoidea) + Pyraloidea) + Papilionoidea) + Tortricoidea), signifying a lack of support for a traditionally defined Macrolepidoptera. The familial relationships of the true butterflies concordantly recovered the previously proposed phylogenetic hypothesis (((Lycaenidae + Nymphalidae) + Pieridae) + Papilionidae). The test for the effect of optimization schemes (exclusion and inclusion of third codon position of PCGs and two rRNA genes, with and without partitions) on the resolution and relationships within the Lepidoptera have demonstrated that the majority of analyses did not substantially alter the relevant topology and node support, possibly as the result of relatively strong signal in mitogenomes for intraordinal relationships in Lepidoptera.

We have determined the complete mitochondrial genome of the yellow-spotted long horned beetle, Psacothea hilaris (Coleoptera: Cerambycidae), an endangered insect species in Korea. The 15,856-bp long P. hilaris mitogenome harbors gene content typical of the animal mitogenome and a gene arrangement identical to the most common type found in insect mitogenomes. As with all other sequenced coleopteran species, the 5-bp long TAGTA motif was also detected in the intergenic space sequence located between tRNA(Ser)(UCN) and ND1 of P. hilaris. The 1,190-bp long non-coding A+T-rich region harbors an unusual series of seven identical repeat sequences of 57-bp in length and several stretches of sequences with the potential to form stem-and-loop structures. Furthermore, it contains one tRNA(Arg)-like sequence and one tRNA(Lys)-like sequence. Phylogenetic analysis among available coleopteran mitogenomes using the concatenated amino acid sequences of PCGs appear to support the sister group relationship of the suborder Polyphaga to all remaining suborders, including Adephaga, Myxophaga, and Archostemata. Among the two available infraorders in Polyphaga, a monophyletic Cucujiformia was confirmed, with the placement of Cleroidea as the basal lineage for Cucujiformia. On the other hand, the infraorder Elateriformia was not identified as monophyletic, thereby indicating that Scirtoidea and Buprestoidea are the basal lineages for Cucujiformia and the remaining Elateriformia.

We have completely sequenced the mitochondrial genome (mitogeome) of the two-spotted stag beetle, Metopodontus blanchardi, which is listed as a first-degree endangered species in Korea. The complete mitogenome of M. blanchardi was determined to be 21,628 bp, indicating at least 5 kb larger in size than typical animal mitogenomes. Such a long M. blanchardi genome stems from a 3100-bp long A + T-rich region and a 4051-bp long, large non-coding sequence located between tRNA(Ile) and tRNA(Gln). The A + T-rich region is composed of duplicated repeat sequences (each 965 bp and 969 bp), and three non-repeat sequences encompassing the repeat sequences. The 4051-bp long non-coding sequence is composed of ∼ 17 tandem repeat sequences, each of which is composed of two subunits (113-bp and 104-bp long subunits) and this is encompassed by non-repeat sequences. The start codon for COI gene of M. blanchardi was designated as unconventional AAG (Lysine) by following a previous study.

Eumenis autonoe, a member of the lepidopteran family, Nymphalidae (superfamily Papilionoidea) is an endangered species and is found only on one isolated remote island Jeju in South Korea, on Halla Mt, at altitudes higher than 1,400 m. In this study, the complete mitochondrial genome (mitogenome) of E. autonoe was reported. The 15,489-bp long E. autonoe genome evidenced the typical gene content found in animal mitogenomes, and harbors the gene arrangement identical to all other sequencedlepidopteran insects, which differs from the most common type found in insects, due to the movement of tRNAMet to a position 5’-upstream of tRNAIle. As has been observed in many other lepidopteran insects, no typical ATN codon for the COI gene is available. Thus, we also designated the CGA (arginine) found at the beginning of the COI gene as a lepidopteran COI starter, in accordance with previous suggestions. The 678 bp long A + T-rich region, which is second longest in sequencedlepidopteran insects, harbored 10 identical 27 bp long tandem repeats plus one 13 - bp long incomplete final repeat. Such a repeat sequence has been, thus far, only rarely detected in lepidopteran mitogenomes. The E. autonoe A + T-rich region harbored a poly-T stretch of 19 bp and a conserved ATAGA motif located at the end of the region, which have been suggested to function as structural signals for minor-strand mtDNA replication. Phylogenetic reconstruction using the concatenated 13amino acid and nucleotide sequences of the protein-coding genes (PCGs) consistently supported a close relationship between Bombycoidea and Geometroidea among six available lepidopteran superfamilies (Tortricoidea, Pyraloidea, Papilionoidea, Bombycoidea, Geometroidea and Noctuoidea). Among the true butterflies (Pieridae, Nymphalidae, Lycaenidae and Papilionidae), a closer relationship between Lycaenidae and Pieridae, excluding Nymphalidae was consistently concluded to exist,although this result deviated from the traditional view.

The 15,389-bp long complete mitogenome of the endangered red-spotted apollo butterfly, Parnassius bremeri (Lepidoptera: Papilionidae) was determined in this study. The start codon for the COI gene in insects has been extensively discussed, and has long remained a matter of some controversy. Herein, we propose that the CGA (arginine) sequence functions as the start codon for the COI gene in lepidopteran insects, on the basis of complete mitogenome sequences of lepidopteran insects, including P. bremeri, as well as additional sequences of the COI start region from a diverse taxonomic range of lepidopteran species (a total of 53 species from 15 families). In our extensive search for a tRNA-like structure in the A+T-rich region, one tRNA(Trp)-like sequence and one tRNA(Leu) (UUR)-like sequence were detected in the P. bremeri A+T-rich region, and one or more tRNA-like structures were detected in the A+T-rich region of the majority of other sequenced lepidopteran insects, thereby indicating that such features occur frequently in the lepidopteran mitogenomes. Phylogenetic analysis using the concatenated 13 amino acid sequences and nucleotide sequences of PCGs of the four macrolepidopteran superfamilies together with the Tortricoidea and Pyraloidea resulted in the successful recovery of a monophyly of Papilionoidea and a monophyly of Bombycoidea. However, the Geometroidea were unexpectedly identified as a sister group of the Bombycoidea, rather than the Papilionoidea.

The 15,360-bp long complete mitogenome of Caligula boisduvalii possesses a gene arrangement and content identical to other completely sequenced lepidopteran mitogenomes, but different from the common arrangement found in most insect order, as the result of the movement of tRNA(Met) to a position 5'-upstream of tRNA Ile. The 330-bp A+T-rich region is apparently capable of forming a stem-and-loop structure, which harbors the conserved flanking sequences at both ends. Dissimilar to what has been seen in other sequenced lepidopteran insects, the initiation codon for C. boisduvalii COI appears to be TTG, which is a rare, but apparently possible initiation codon. The ATP8, ATP6, ND4L, and ND6 genes, which neighbor another PCG at their 3' end, all harbored potential sequences for the formation of a hairpin structure. This is suggestive of the importance of such structures for the precise cleavage of the mRNA of mature PCGs. Phylogenetic analyses of available sequenced species of Bombycoidea, Pyraloidea, and Tortricidea supported the morphology-based current hypothesis that Bombycoidea and Pyraloidea are monophyletic (Obtectomera). As previously suggested, Bombycidae (Bombyx mori and B. mandarina) and Saturniidae (Antheraea pernyi and C. boisduvalii) formed a reciprocal monophyletic group.

Two species of the genus Cosmophorus (Hymenoptera: Braconidae) are reported in this study. Among them, Cosmophorus (Cosmophorus) klugii Ratzeburg is new to Korea. Diagnosis and distribution data are included.

This study were performed from April in 2010 to August in 2011, through regular surveys insects to obtain the list, to measure and assess Mt. Oseosan ecosystem's natural or artificial change, to provide data for systematic management and preservation of the contents of insects. Total 446 species of 108 families belonging to 11 orders were identified. Therefore, The species composition of insect from Mt. Oseosan by present study and previous literatures was a total of 566 species of 122 families under 11 orders including 7 endermic species, 13 management of exotic species, 9 species of IUCN Red List and 73 designated species: Lepidoptera (215 species, 38%) which was the highest, Coleoptera (159 species, 28.1%), Hemiptera(89 species, 15.7%) and Hymenoptera (35 species, 6.18%). We observed biological indicator species of climate change [ Sympetrum pedemontanum elatum (Selys), Dichorragia nesimachus (Boisduval)] as well as risk species [ Agelastica coerulea Baly, Lycorma delicatula (White), Lymantria dispar (Linne)].