Taeman Han

Reassessment of Species Diversity of the Subfamily Denticollinae (Coleoptera: Elateridae) through DNA Barcoding

The subfamily Denticollinae is a taxonomically diverse group in the family Elateridae. Denticollinae includes many morphologically similar species and crop pests, as well as many undescribed species at each local fauna. To construct a rapid and reliable identification system for this subfamily, the effectiveness of molecular species identification was assessed based on 421 cytochrome c oxidase subunit I (COI) sequences of 84 morphologically identified species. Among the 84 morphospecies, molecular species identification of 60 species (71.4%) was consistent with their morphological identifications. Six cryptic and/or pseudocryptic species with large genetic divergence (>5%) were confirmed by their sympatric or allopatric distributions. However, 18 species, including a subspecies, had ambiguous genetic distances and shared overlapping intra- and interspecific genetic distances (range: 2.12%–3.67%) suggesting incomplete lineage sorting, introgression of mitochondrial genome, or affection by endosymbionts, such as Wolbachia infection, between species and simple genetic variation within species. In this study, we propose a conservative threshold of 3.6% for convenient molecular operational taxonomic unit (MOTU) identification in the subfamily Denticollinae based on the results of pairwise genetic distances analyses using neighbor-joining, mothur, Automatic Barcode Gap Discovery analysis, and tree-based species delimitation by Poisson Tree Processes analysis. Using the 3.6% threshold, we identified 87 MOTUs and found 8 MOTUs in the interval between 2.5% to 3.5%. Evaluation of MOTUs identified in this range requires integrative species delimitation, including review of morphological and ecological differences as well as sensitive genetic markers. From this study, we confirmed that COI sequence is useful for reassessing species diversity for polymorphic and polytypic species occurring in sympatric and allopatric distributions, and for a single species having an extensively large habitat.

Biological Identity of Hwangchung and History on the Control of Hwangchung Outbreaks in Joseon Dynasty Analyzed through the Database Program on the Annals of the Joseon Dynasty and the Enrollment of Haegoeje

We tried to establish the history of outbreaks and control methods of `hwangchung` in Joseon Dynasty, uncovering the biological reality of the `hwangchung` (called hwang or bihwang) analyzed through the Database program on `the Annals of the Joseon Dynasty` and `the Emollment of Haegoeje`, two of the finest examples of classical historical records. The total number of articles on the outbreak of the hwangchung is 261 in the Annals of the Joseon Dynasty and 65 in the Emollment of Haegoeje. There were four peaks by hwangchung throughout the Joseon Era. Among them, the periods of King Taejo to King Sejong had the highest incidence. By comparing the number of records of the hwangchung from the Annals of the Joseon Dynasty with that in the Emollment of Haegoeje during the same period, results show the former was less than the latter, 35 vs 65. However, both records were relatively inconsistent with each other. Insect pests in forests as well as in agriculture were included in the biological identities of the hwangchung in the Joseon Dynasty periods, which is in accordance with those of Saigo`s. The taxonomic identity could be confirmed in only 25 cases (9.5%) among the articles on hwangchung. It largely coincided with Paik`s opinion: II in armyworm, nine in moth larva, one in rice stem borer, two in migratory locust, one in planthopper and one in rice-plant weevil. Therefore, it is not reasonable to regard hwangchung as a migratory locust or grasshopper only. The number of reports on the occurrence of hwangchung in the Annals of the Joseon Dynasty was 173 (66% of the total) and 47% of them were just simple reports, which means the report itself on the appearance of hwangchung was very significant. The reports on controlling insect pests were of low frequency, in 20% (34 cases) of the total reports, capturing insect pests or holding traditional ceremony called `Poje`. Among them, only one case related to the treatment of seeds to prevent the damage by hwangchung was published in the King Sejong period. There were 37 discussions about changes and management of government policies due to disasters by hwangchung. They were mostly about relief or tax cut to the people who suffered damage and about cancellation of recruiting people to military training, constructing castles, and so on. It seems that not only the people but also the king was influenced by the hwangchung. In the case of King Seongjong, he referred to the stress of the prevention measure of locusts in 10 articles. The damage also had an effect on abdication in the reign of King Jeongjong.

The complete mitochondrial genome of the subterranean termite, Reticulitermes speratus kyushuensis Morimoto, 1968 (Isoptera: Rhinotermitidae)

Abstract We have determined the mitochondrial genome of Reticulitermes speratus kyushuensis Morimoto, 1968. The total length of the R. speratus kyushuensis is 15,898 bp with 65.3% A + T content. It consists of 13 PCGs, 22 tRNA, and 2 rRNA genes and an A + T–rich control region. All the protein-coding genes used ATN as start codon. But the stop codons were TAA, TAG, and an incomplete termination codon (T) abutting an adjacent tRNA gene. The A + T–rich control region was 1105 bp in length with 67.8% A + T content.

A taxonomic review of the genus Palumbina Rondani, 1876 (Lepidoptera, Gelechiidae, Thiotrichinae) from China, with descriptions of twelve new species

Palumbina is a small genus of Gelechiidae that includes species distributed only in the Old World. It was recently assigned to the subfamily Thiotrichinae, but the morphological and molecular studies at the species level have not been extensively conducted. In this study, we focused on the taxonomy of the Chinese Palumbina using morphology and DNA barcoding analysis to confirm the species identification and the relationship among closely related species. In China, three species of this genus were recorded previously. A total of 19 were finally recognized in the present study, including 12 new species: P. magnisigna sp. nov., P. grandiunca sp. nov., P. melanotricha sp. nov., P. atricha sp. nov., P. sigmoides sp. nov., P. acuticula sp. nov., P. rugosa sp. nov., P. sineloba sp. nov., P. spinevalva sp. nov., P. acerosa sp. nov., P. triangularis sp. nov. and P. acinacea sp. nov., and five species that are new records for China: P. chelophora (Meyrick, 1918), P. diplobathra (Meyrick, 1918), P. macrodelta (Meyrick, 1918), P. nesoclera (Meyrick, 1929) and P. operaria (Meyrick, 1918). Three new combinations are proposed: P. operaria (Meyrick, 1918) comb. nov., P. albilustra (Walia et Wadhawan, 2005) comb. nov. and P. shivai (Walia et Wadhawan, 2005) comb. nov., and one new synonymy is established: Thyrsostoma albilustra (Walia et Wadhawan, 2005), syn. nov. of P. oxyprora (Meyrick, 1922). Based on the neighbor-joining analysis of COI gene sequences of 67 exemplar specimens, four clades were well supported with high bootstrap values resulting in four species-groups: the guerinii-group, the grandiunca-group, the macrodelta-group and the nesoclera-group. However, seven species were grouped together in an additional clade with weak support and P. diplobathra and P. chelophora were not clustered with any other species due to the high genetic divergences. Palumbina chelophora showed typical characteristics of the genus morphologically, but it was not embedded within Palumbina as monophyletic from the tree, assuming that the sole use of mitochondrial fragments could not resolve the deeper relationship. Therefore, further investigation is needed to clarify those issues. In this study, the generic diagnosis was reviewed based on previous studies and morphological examination.

A molecular phylogenetic study on South Korean Tettigonia species (Orthoptera: Tettigoniidae) using five genetic loci: The possibility of multiple allopatric speciation

In Korea, members of the genus Tettigonia have been known as two species, T. ussuriana and T. dolichoptera dolichoptera. However, the taxonomic status of the Jeju Island population of T. ussuriana (JJ-TU) is in question, relative to the mainland population (ML-TU), because of their different body sizes and ratios of wing length. To clarify the relatedness of JJ-TU and ML-TU, we examined the genetic variation and phylogenetic relationships within and between T. ussuriana and related species collected in South Korea, using five genetic loci: three mitochondrial genes (cytochrome c oxidase subunit 1 [CO1], cytochrome c oxidase subunit 2 [CO2], NADH dehydrogenase 1 [ND1]) and two nuclear loci (second internal transcribed spacer [ITS2], and tubulin alpha-1 [TA1]). Unexpectedly, the JJ-TU population is explicitly sister to T. d. dolichoptera, with low genetic distance (0.76-1.22% in CO1), indicating no direct connection with the ML-TU population; this finding suggests a recent divergence involving rapid morphological change without gene flow between JJ-TU and mainland T. d. dolichoptera. The separation of these populations from their common ancestor was caused by geographical isolation during last glacial age. This finding indicates that the JJ-TU population should be elevated to the rank of subspecies, at the very least. Furthermore, the ML-TU population was also revealed to have four genetically divided groups (group A-D) from four localized populations, but no significant morphological differences exist among them. The genetic difference (range 3.19-4.10% in CO1) between group A + B and C + D was especially large, suggesting that cryptic speciation has widely occurred within the mainland areas, caused by allopatric isolations resulting from mountain barriers.

Molecular phylogeny of the genus Dicronocephalus (Coleoptera, Scarabaeidae, Cetoniinae) based on mtCOI and 16S rRNA genes

Abstract The seven species belonging to the genus Dicronocephalus are a very interesting group with a unique appearance and distinct sexual dimorphism. Only one species among them, Dicronocephalus adamsi, has been known in the Korean fauna. This species is recognized as having a wide distribution from Tibet to Korean Peninsula and is currently represented by two subspecies that have separated geographical ranges. The phylogenetic relationships of Dicronocephalus adamsi were still unclear. The phylogeny of Dicronocephalus is reconstructed with a phylogenetic study of five species including four subspecies based on a molecular approach using mitochondrial COI and 16S rRNA genes. Our results are compared with the results obtained by previous authors based on morphological characters. They show that the tested taxa are divided into two major clades. Clade A consists of two species (Dicronocephalus adamsi + Dicranocephalus yui) and Clade B includes the others (Dicronocephalus dabryi + Dicranocephalus uenoi + Dicranocephalus wallichii). This result generally supports Kurosawa’s proposal except that Dicronocephalus dabryi and Dicranocephalus uenoi are newly recognized as members of a monophyletic group. We propose that Dicronocephalus adamsi drumonti is a junior subjective synonym of Dicronocephalus adamsi adamsi. These results show that three members of the Dicranocephalus wallichii group should be treated as species rather than subspecies. However, further research including analyses of different genetic markers is needed to reconfirm our results.

Morphological and molecular identification of Conilepia nigricosta, new to Korea, and Lithosia quadra with their phylogenetic placements within tribe lithosiina (Lepidoptera: Erebidae: Arctiinae)

Conilepia nigricosta (Leech 1888) is very similar to Lithosia quadra in the superficial appearance of females. We re‐examined their morphologies and analyzed their DNA barcode regions to assess their taxonomic status and phylogenetic relationships with other related genera. Our morphological study confirmed the diagnostic value of the wing venation and the genital structures in both sexes. Our analyses with DNA barcodes showed sufficient genetic divergences ranging from 6.21% to 7.16% between those two species. The phylogenetic relationship using the barcoding region for the members belonging to lithosiina showed that Conilepia and Lithosia are suggested as having strong monophyly compared to other genera.

Three Species of Histerid Beetles (Coleoptera: Histeridae) New to Korea

Until now, 53 species belonging to 22 genera of 6 subfamily of family Histeridae have been recorded in Korea. As a result of this study, we newly add two subfamily, three genera, and three species, Niponius osorioceps Lewis, 1885, Plegaderus (Plegaderus) marseuli Reitter, 1877, and Trypeticus fagi (Lewis, 1884), to Korea along with a brief description and illustration of the diagnostic characters.

A New Record of Pseudanostirus ecarinatus (Stepanov, 1930) (Coleoptera: Elateridae) in Korea

Pseudanostirus ecarinatus (Stepanov, 1930) is recognized for the first time in Korea. A redescription and illustrations of the species are presented based on a single male specimen collected from Mt. Bangtae Gangwon-do. We also provide diagnostic characteristics of the genus, which clearly separate it from other closely related genera, Calambus Thomson, 1859 and Anostrius Thomson, 1859.

Genetic variations of DNA barcoding region of bumble bees (Hymenoptera: Apidae) from South Korea

Abstract We reassessed species diversity and genetic structure in Korean bumble bees using DNA barcode analyses of 484 cytochrome c oxidase subunit I (COI) sequences from 24 morphospecies. Based on COI, all of the Korean species formed distinct clades in the phylogenetic trees, except for Bombus (Megabombus) koreanus in the maximum likelihood tree. Five species exhibited low interspecific genetic distances (range: 1.2–2.7%), indicating that they are recently diverged species. COI data could not be used to identify bumble bees at the subspecies level. For the dominant species, most local populations in Korea were panmictic and were more closely related to continental populations than to allopatric populations. Furthermore, sympatric haplotypes within Korea could be distinguished. We detected B. (Megabombus) diversus in South Korea for the first time. Our results demonstrate that DNA barcoding is a useful technique for species recognition and for allopatric and sympatric haplotype detection in bumble bees.