Taxonomic review of the genus Eupoecilia Stephens (Lepidoptera: Tortricidae: Tortricinae) in Korea with descriptions of two new species

Eupoecilia Stephens (Lepidoptera: Tortricoidea: Tortricidae) comprises 39 described species worldwide. Eight species of the genus are recognized from Korea, two of which, Eupoecilia curvifasciata sp. nov. and E. koreana sp. nov., are described as new. Also, Eupoecilia sanguisorbana (Herrich-Schäffer, 1856) is reported for the first time from Korea. All the known species are described or redescribed, and the adults and genitalic structures are illustrated. In addition, a key to the Korean species is also provided.     

Tapinoma melanocephalum (Fabricius), a new exotic pest in Korea

Tapinoma melanocephalum (Fabricius) is established as a house pest in various regions of the world, not limited to its original climate zones. T. melanocephalum seems likely to become established in Korea as well, based on our observations of the species from a private house in Seoul, Korea, its history of establishment in the world, and a few unofficial records in Korea. Diagnosis of the species is provided with pictures of specimens. Morphological characteristics identifying T. melanocephalum from the Korean indigenous Tapinoma species are provided.     

Review of the Genus Myrmica in Korea (Hymenptera: Formicidae)

The paper contains a taxonomie review of 12 species of the genus Myrmica occurring in Korea. The following species are under discussion: M. angulinodis Ruzsky, M. carinata Kupyanskaya, M. hyungokae Elmes, M. jessensis Forel, M. kasczenkoi Ruzsky, M. kotokui Forel, M. koreana Elmes, M kurokii Forel, M. lobicornis Nylander, M. ruginodis Nylander, M silvestrii Wheeler, M. sulcinodis Nylander. Twelve species of the genus Myrmica are recognized from Korea, these are revised and a key to their identification is provided. Five species, M. cadusa, M. incurvata, M. saphoshikovi, M. scabrinodis, and M. yoshiokai are questionable to be distributed in Korea, as I have not found any specimens preserved in Korea. The SEM photo and illustrations of the worker of each species are provided.     

Behavioural and phylogeographic observations on Epipomponia nawai (Dyer, 1904): An East Asian moth (Lepidoptera; Epipyropidae) whose larvae are ectoparasitic on cicadas (Hemiptera; Cicadidae; Sonatini)

The lepidopteran family of the Epipyropidae contains currently 32 known species of moths with larvae that are parasitic on plant and leafhoppers as well as cicadas. This paper focuses on behavioural aspects of the final instar of the cicada parasite Epipomponia nawai (Dyer 1904) on the cicada Hyalessa maculaticollis (de Motschulsky 1866) and represents only the second report of the species from South Korea. This species is a new host for E. nawai in Korea, since in the past it had only been reported once from Meimuna opalifera and Oncotympana fuscata in Korea. Molecular relationships between specimens of E. nawai collected in China, Japan, and Korea were analysed. The Chinese haplotypes fell into two groups: one clearly related to the Korean haplotype, but the other tightly affiliated with the Japanese haplotype. The findings suggest two routes for the occurrence of E. nawai in mainland China. Once the host cicada was dead or too weak to move, the caterpillar crawled away from it, seeking a place to pupate. Very little is known about parasitic Lepidoptera and therefore any information on host species or behavioural aspects is of importance.     

New record of subfamily Prometopinae (Coleoptera: Cucujoidea: Nitidulidae) in Korea

The subfamily Prometopinae Böving and Craighead, 1931 is recorded from Korea for the first time. Two species from different genera are recognized; Prometopia unidentata Hisamatsu, 1959 and Paramatopia x-rubrum Reitter, 1884. Morphological comments, biology, illustrations of habitus with genitalia of both sexes and a key to species from Korea are provided.     

Molecular identification of two Trichogramma species (Hymenoptera: Trichogrammatidae) in Korea

Trichogramma wasps parasitize eggs of various insect species. Several Trichogramma species have been commercialized to manage Lepidopteran agricultural pests. Correct species identification is essential for successful biological control. However, the microscopic size and morphological similarity of Trichogramma species makes correct identification very difficult. Internal transcribed spacer (ITS)-2 gene sequences have been used to identify Trichogramma species. Using this molecular marker, Trichogramma species that are commercially available in Korea were identified as Trichogramma ostriniae and Trichogramma brassicae. The latter has not previously been reported in Korea. Additionally, Cadra cautella and Sitotroga cereallela eggs (host eggs of the commercialized Trichogramma species in Korea) were infected with Wolbachia. However, Trichogramma were not infected with the bacterium. This indicates that horizontal transfer of Wolbachia does not occur from host to wasp.     

Taxonomic review of the subgenus Uroleucon (Uromelan) (Hemiptera: Aphididae) in the Korean peninsula

Until now, five species of the subgenus Uroleucon (Uromelan) have been recognized in Korea. This is the first report of Uroleucon (Uromelan) adenophorae (Matsumura, 1918) occurring on Adenophora triphylla (Campanulaceae) in Gangwon-do, South Korea. Host plants are reviewed and an identification key to species is presented for six Uroleucon (Uromelan) species from the Korean Peninsula.     

Two New Species and Two Newly Recorded Species of Anthribidae (Coleoptera) from Korea

This paper describes two new species of the Anthribidae from Korea, Euparius koreanus n. sp. and Uncifer angulatus n. sp. Two other species, Eucorynus crassicornis (Fabricius) and Habrissus analis Morimoto are new to the fauna of Korea. Their important features are illustrated. The genera, Uncifer, Eucorynus, and Habrissus are newly recognized from Korea.     

Taxonomic review of the predatory stink bugs of the Korean Peninsula (Heteroptera: Pentatomidae: Asopinae), with a key to the Korean species and a discussion of their usefulness as biological control agents

Owing to their predatory feeding habits, many members of the stink bug subfamily Asopinae have been used as biological agents for controlling insect pests. Herein a taxonomical review of Korean Asopinae species is presented. The habitus and a detailed genital morphology of each species is illustrated together with the first key to the Asopinae species present in Korea. We report Eocanthecona kyushuensis (Esaki & Ishihara, 1950) for the first time on the Korean Peninsula and the subtropical species Andrallus spinidens has been confirmed in the southern part of Korea, but Troilus luridus has not been found in the Republic of Korea. All this information is of extreme importance for the correct identification and understanding of the biology and distribution of Asopinae species. We also present a discussion of the potential usefulness and viability of the stink bugs as biological control agents in Korea.     

Taxonomic revision of the East Asian genus Scleropteroides Colonnelli, 1979 (Coleoptera,Curculionidae, Ceutorhynchinae)

The genus Scleropteroides Colonnelli, 1979 (Ceutorhynchinae: Scleropterini) was revised on the basis of detailed morphological observations. The genus was redefined to include three species from East Asia: S. hypocrita (Hustache, 1916) is redescribed and recorded from northeastern China and northern Korea for the first time; S. horridulus (Voss, 1958) is redescribed with new records from southern Korea; S. insularis Voss, 1971 was moved from synonymy with S. hypocrita to that with S. horridulus (syn. n.), and S. longiprocessus Huang & Yoshitake, sp. n. is described as new, sympatric with S. hypocrita in Japan. All the species are associated with woody Rubus species (Rosaceae). A key to species, habitus photographs, illustrations of important characters, and distribution maps are provided for each species.     

Review of the genus Zygoneura Meigen (Diptera: Sciaridae) in Korea,with an updated checklist of the World species

The taxonomy of Zygoneura Meigen, 1830 (Diptera: Sciaridae) is studied. A total of three species of Zygoneura is found in Korea: Zygoneura (Zygoneura) sciarina Meigen, 1830, Zygoneura (Pharetratula) bidens (Mamaev, 1968), and Zygoneura (Pharetratula) flavicornis (Mamaev, 1968). Z. bidens is recorded from Korea for the first time. All three species are redescribed and illustrated, and a key to the Korean species is given. Furthermore, an updated world checklist of all species of Zygoneura is presented.     

Endemism of subterranean Diacyclops in Korea and Japan,with descriptions of seven new species of the languidoides-group and redescriptions of D. brevifurcus Ishida, 2006 and D. suoensis Ito, 1954 (Crustacea,Copepoda, Cyclopoida)

Copepods have been poorly studied in subterranean habitats in Korea. Previous records have indicated mostly the presence of species already described from Japan, with very few endemic elements. This commonality has usually been explained by repeated dispersal across the land bridges that connected the two countries several times during the Pleistocene glacial cycles. However, the Korean Peninsula is known for pockets of Cambrian and Ordovician carbonate rocks, with more than 1,000 caves already having been explored. The relative isolation of these carbonate pockets makes for an enormous speciation potential, and the development of a high level of short-range endemism of subterranean copepods should be expected. Representatives of the genus Diacyclops Kiefer, 1927 are here investigated from a range of subterranean habitats in South Korea, with comparative material sampled from central Honshu in Japan. Morphological analyses of microcharacters, many of which are used in cyclopoid taxonomy for the first time herein, reveal high diversity in both countries. No subterranean species is found in common, although the existence of four sibling species pairs in Korea and Japan may be indicative of relatively recent speciation. We describe seven new stygobiotic species, including three from Korea (Diacyclops hanguk sp. n., Diacyclops leeae sp. n., and Diacyclops parasuoensis sp. n.) and four from Japan (Diacyclops hisuta sp. n., Diacyclops ishidai sp. n., Diacyclops parahanguk sp. n., and Diacyclops pseudosuoensis sp. n.). Diacyclops hanguk, Diacyclops parasuoensis, Diacyclops ishidai, and Diacyclops parahanguk are described from newly collected material, while the other three new species are proposed for specimens previously identified as other, widely distributed species. Diacyclops brevifurcus Ishida, 2006 is redescribed from the holotype female, and Diacyclops suoensis Ito, 1954 is redescribed from material newly collected near the ancient Lake Biwa in Japan. This research provides evidence for the importance of subterranean habitats as reservoirs of biodiversity, and also demonstrates the inadequacy of current morphological methods of identifying closely related species of copepods. The disproportionately high diversity discovered around Lake Biwa provides further evidence in support of the hypothesis about the role of ancient lakes as biodiversity pumps for subterranean habitats. A key to the East Asian species of the languidoides-group is provided.     

Taxonomic review of genus Diaparsis Förster (Hymenoptera: Ichneumonidae: Tersilochinae) from South Korea

Eleven species of the genus Diaparsis, including two unidentified species, are recorded from South Korea. One new species, D. koreana Khalaim, et al., sp. nov., is described, and six species, D. carinifer (Thomson), D. convexa Khalaim, D. egregia Khalaim, D. hyperae Kusigemati, D. jucunda (Holmgren) and D. neoplicator Khalaim, are recorded from this country for the first time. Diaparsis hyperae and D. pulchra are the most abundant species of the genus in the Korean fauna. A key to eleven species of Diaparsis occurring in South Korea is provided.     

Genetic diversity of genus Vespa including an invaded species of V. velutina (Hymenoptera: Vespidae) in Korea inferred from DNA barcoding data

With about 5000 known species, the Vespidae is a large family belongs to order Hymenoptera. The genus Vespa with 22 species is one of the four genera of the subfamily Vespinae. In Korea, 10 species and subspecies are recognized. Because of their social behavior, their treat to human health and their impact in apiculture, the reliable and sometimes automated identification of these insects to species level are important. To test the efficacy of DNA barcoding method for identification of species of the genus Vespa in Korea, 30 samples of eight Korean species of genus Vespa were collected and mitochondrial DNAs of 658 bp fragment cytochrome oxidase subunit 1 (CO1) region were sequenced. A Bayesian Inference based on COI gene of the Korean Vespa species was constructed. The phylogenetic tree shoed that identification of all specimens is possible based on COI gene and we found strong relation between the sequences of the collected species from different localities in South Korea which clustered together with 100% support with sequences of the same species in GenBank. The results demonstrate that DNA barcoding is a useful technique for rapid and accurate species recognition in Korean Vespa species. The DNA barcode part of COI for V. binghami is provided for the first time that can help for identification of this species through DNA barcoding. Also, the genetic diversity among Korean Vespa velutina was zero suggests that the invasion might have occurred in a single event with small number of founders.