Young Bo Lee

Phylogenetic Relationships of Dorcus koreanus Jang and Kawai, 2008 (Coleoptera, Lucanidae): Species or Subspecies?

Dorcus koreanus Jang and Kawai, 2008 was recently described as a valid species in Haenam, South Korea, based on morphology. However, the taxonomic position and relationships of this new species with the related species Dorcus japonicus and Dorcus carinulatus were not examined in detail. To address this issue, we evaluated the phylogenetic relationships of D. koreanus to its related species based on molecular analyses of mitochondrial 16S rRNA gene sequences. The molecular evidence suggested that D. koreanus and D. carinulatus are more closely related to each other than either is to D. Japonicus. The genetic divergence between D. koreanus and D. carinulatus ranged from 1.2 to 1.6%, whereas that between D. koreanus and D. japonicus ranged from 9.0 to 9.2%. By comparing the range of nucleotide substitutions within Lucanidae, we determined that the sequence distance between D. koreanus and D. carinulatus is smaller than that for required for species-level distinction. Therefore, we reduce D. koreanus to subspecies rank, as Dorcus carinulatus koreanus stat. nov.

Website monitoring on the behavior of consumers for educational pet insects.

As the market of educational pet insects is expanding, understanding the consumer needs became more crucial. To achieve the ideal analysis on the market, this research monitored the behavior of consumers. The posting on the blogs of consumers, who have visited insect museums and farms, or have bought insects were collected as data. Moreover, the informational contents, photographs and texts, were analyzed. The results showed that the family-unit visitors with elementary school lower graders were the main type of visitors for their children`s education. The visiting areas were concentrated in Seoul and the Metropolitans of Gyeonggi province, and the visits were mostly occurred during their children`s vacation period. The analysis of posted photographs showed the visitors` high interest in the hands-on program. According to the texts on visitors` blogs, especially, the largest number of visitors satisfied with the variety of program. It implies the necessity of development in diverse and differentiated hands-on program. Otherwise, the programs available to connect insects to other animals and plants should be introduced to reduce aversion against insects, which was reported as the strongest dissatisfaction. In conclusion, diversification on insect species and development in systematized hands-on program seem to be required for the continuous growth of educational pet insects market.