Seung-Hwan Yun

Feeding response of the cotton aphid,Aphis gossypii, to sublethal rates of flonicamid and imidacloprid

The cotton aphid, Aphis gossypii Glover (Hemiptera: Aphididae), is an important sap‐sucking pest of many plants, including melons and peppers. This study was conducted to determine the effects of sublethal exposure to flonicamid and imidacloprid and the mechanisms by which these insecticides affect the feeding behavior of A. gossypii. The median lethal concentrations (LC50) of flonicamid and imidacloprid for adult A. gossypii were 2.40 and 1.92 mg l−1, respectively. The lower lethal concentrations of flonicamid were 1.01 mg l−1 (LC30) and 0.29 mg l−1 (LC10), and those of imidacloprid were 0.82 mg l−1 (LC30) and 0.24 mg l−1 (LC10). The developmental period of A. gossypii nymphs at LC30 was 3.6 days for both insecticides, which was shorter than that of the untreated controls (4.2 days). Longevity and total fecundity of A. gossypii adults were decreased at the sublethal concentrations of both insecticides. The lowest net reproductive rate was observed in A. gossypii treated with the LC30 of flonicamid. Feeding behavior analyses using an electrical penetration graph showed that sublethal concentrations of flonicamid and imidacloprid had significant effects on the duration of phloem ingestion. Higher doses of flonicamid induced starvation by inhibiting phloem ingestion, whereas imidacloprid acted as a contact toxin rather than an inhibitor of feeding behavior.

Seasonal Fluctuation of Riptortus pedestris (Hemiptera: Alydidae) in Chungbuk Province

Seasonal fluctuations of Riptortus pedestris were investigated in four regions including two sites each at Mt. Yangseong (Munui-myeon, Cheongwon-gun), O-chang (Cheongwon-gun), and Jujung-dong (Cheongju) using aggression pheromone traps from April to November in 2010 and 2011. Aggression pheromone and aggression pheromone + soybean traps were set at all investigated sites, and the Mt. Yangseong A and B sites were investigated at a farmland (80 m, asl) and forest (200 and 300 m). The population density of R. pedestris was high in mid June, mid August, and late October in 2010 and in early May, mid June, mid September, and early October in 2011 with trivoltine. O-chang and Jujung-dong populations, which were distinguished in farmlands and forests, were highest from June to August in the farmland and in September in the forest. Similar numbers of R. pedestris were capture in the farmlands and the forest in June-August, September-November, respectively. From the results of the four regions, more R. pedestris adults were captured in the aggression pheromone + soybean trap than that in the pheromone trap. To investigate the migration route by altitude, 500 R. pedestris adults marked with fluorescent paint were released and re-caught insects were counted in traps after 10 and 20 days. The pattern of the re-caught R. pedestris indicated migration from the forest to farmlands during April-June. These results suggest that the insects did not migrate in August because food was plentiful in the forest at 200 m, but they moved to the forest during October due to the scarcity of food and for overwintering. The R. pedestris seasonal fluctuations in 2011 were affected heavily by the environment, particularly rain precipitation.

Comparative Analyses of Cu-Zn Superoxide Dismutase (SOD1) and Thioredoxin Reductase (TrxR) at the mRNA Level between Apis mellifera L. and Apis cerana F. (Hymenoptera: Apidae) Under Stress Conditions

This study compared stress-induced expression of Cu-Zn superoxide dismutase (SOD1) and thioredoxin reductase (TrxR) genes in the European honeybee Apis mellifera L. and Asian honeybee Apis cerana F. Expression of both SOD1 and TrxR rapidly increased up to 5 h after exposure to cold (4°C) or heat (37°C) treatment and then gradually decreased, with a stronger effect induced by cold stress in A. mellifera compared with A. cerana. Injection of stress-inducing substances (methyl viologen, [MV] and H2O2) also increased SOD1 and TrxR expression in both A. mellifera and A. cerana, and this effect was more pronounced with MV than H2O2. Additionally, we heterologously expressed the A. mellifera and A. cerana SOD1 and TrxR proteins in an Escherichia coli expression system, and detection by SDS-PAGE, confirmed by Western blotting using anti-His tag antibodies, revealed bands at 16 and 60 kDa, respectively. Our results show that the expression patterns of SOD1 and TrxR differ between A. mellifera and A. cerana under conditions of low or high temperature as well as oxidative stress.

X-ray Irradiation Control of Frankliniella occidentalis and Frankliniella intonsa (Thysanoptera: Thripidae) in the Exportation of Freshly Cut Lily Flowers

Abstract Lily (Lilium longiflorum Thunb.) is the most representative bulb flower, and it is the third most important flower in the flower industry of South Korea after rose and chrysanthemum. To determine the efficacy of X-ray irradiation for use in quarantine processing, two species of flower thrips (Frankliniella intonsa (Trybom) and Frankliniella occidentalis (Pergande)) were placed in the top, middle, and bottom locations of lily boxes and irradiated with different X-ray doses. After irradiation with an X-ray dose of 150 Gy, the egg hatching of the two flower thrips was completely inhibited at every location in the lily boxes, and the irradiated F. intonsa and F. occidentalis nymphs failed to emerge as adult in every location of the lily boxes. When the adults were irradiated at 150 Gy, the fecundity of the two flower thrips was markedly lower than that of the untreated control groups. The F1 generation failed to hatch at the top and middle locations, whereas the F1 generation of both F. intonsa and F. occidentalis was not suppressed at the bottom locations, even at 200 Gy. However, hatching was perfectly inhibited at 300 Gy of X-ray irradiation. Also, X-rays did not affect the postharvest physiology of cut lilies. Therefore, a minimum dose of 300 Gy is recommended for the control of F. intonsa and F. occidentalis for the exportation of lily.

Electron Beam-Induced Sterility and Inhibition of Ovarian Development in the Sakhalin Pine Longicorn, Monochamus saltuarius (Coleoptera: Cerambycidae)

Abstract The Sakhalin pine longicorn, Monochamus saltuarius (Gebler; Coleoptera: Cerambycidae), is an insect vector of the pine wilt nematode (PWN), Bursaphelenchus xylophilus (Steiner et Buhrer) Nickle, and is widely distributed in central Korea. M. saltuarius is a forest pest that seriously damages Pinus densiflora (Siebold et Zucc, Pinales: Pinaceae) and Pinus koraiensis (Siebold & Zucc, Pinales: Pinaceae) forests. We examined the effect of electron beam irradiation on the mating, DNA damage and ovarian development of M. saltuarius adults and sought to identify the optimal dose for sterilizing insects. When the adults were irradiated with electron beams, both females and males were completely sterile at 200 Gy. In a reciprocal crossing experiment between unirradiated and irradiated adults, the reproductive ability of wild adults was recovered by crossing with wild adults even after crossing previously with sterile adults. When a pair of unirradiated adults (♀- × ♂-) and 10 or 20 irradiated adults (♀+ or ♂+) were kept together, the control effect was as high as 80∼90%. After electron beam irradiation at 200 Gy, the DNA of M. saltuarius adults was damaged, the ovarian development of female adults was inhibited, and the level of vitellogenin was significantly decreased compared with that in unirradiated female adults.These results suggest that pine wilt disease can be effectively controlled if a large number of sterilized M. saltuarius male adults are released into the field.

Doses of Electron Beam and X-ray Irradiation for Inhibition of Development and Reproduction in Four Insect Pests

This study investigated inhibitory doses of electron beam and X-ray irradiation by comparing their effects on the development and reproduction of four insect pests (Myzus persicae, Tetranychus urticae, Liriomyza trifolii, and Frankliniella intonsa). When M. persicae nymphs were irradiated with 100 Gy of electron beam and 30 Gy of X-ray beam, offspring production by adults that developed from the treated nymphs was completely inhibited. When M. persicae adults were irradiated with 200 Gy of electron beam and 50 Gy of X-ray beam, emergence of the generation was inhibited. However, these two ionizing radiations did not affect adult longevity. When T. urticae eggs were irradiated with 150 Gy of electron beam and 50 Gy of X-ray beam, egg hatching was completely inhibited. When L. trifolii pupae were irradiated, the emergence rate decreased with increasing doses of X-ray irradiation. After F. intonsa adults were irradiated with 250 Gy of electron beam and 200 Gy of X-ray beam, egg hatching of the generation was completely suppressed.