Five new species of the Pholcusphungiformes species group (Araneae, Pholcidae) from South Korea.

Five new spider species of the genus Pholcus Walckenaer, 1805, P.duryunsp. nov., P.hwaamsp. nov., P.mohangsp. nov., P.woraksp. nov., and P.yangpyeongsp. nov., belonging to the P.phungiformes group in the family Pholcidae C. L. Koch, 1850, are newly described from South Korea. These new species were collected from mixed forests in mountainous, hilly, and coastal terrains. This study provides the diagnoses, detailed descriptions, distribution maps, and taxonomic photographs of these new species.

Early-Stage Defense Mechanism of the Cotton Aphid Aphis gossypii Against Infection With the Insect-Killing Fungus Beauveria bassiana JEF-544.

Aphis gossypii, commonly known as the cotton aphid, is a widely distributed pest of agricultural crops and acts as a vector for many serious plant viruses. Cotton aphid shows high resistance to chemical insecticides due to rapid rates of genetic diversity as a result of its short life cycle, seasonal migration, and host alteration. As an alternative, entomopathogenic fungi can be used to control cotton aphids in an environmentally sound manner. However, little is known about how cotton aphids respond to fungal infection. In this work, a new Beauveria bassiana strain JEF-544 (Bb JEF-544) was selected and isolated through bioassays with high virulence against cotton aphid. Early response of cotton aphid to Bb JEF-544 infection was analyzed at the transcriptome level. Infected aphids were collected two days after treatment at 25% lethal time (LT25), and total RNA of non-infected and Bb JEF-544-infected aphids was independently subjected to sequencing. Infected aphids showed significant up-regulation of the insect hormone biosynthesis pathway. Bursicon (Burs) and crustacean cardioactive peptide (CCAP) receptors involved in molting along with ecdysone synthesis were also strongly up-regulated in the aphid response to the fungal infection. In the immune response, melanization in the hemocoel was significantly up-regulated, while phagocytosis was less actively transcribed. In conclusion, cotton aphids protect themselves from Bb JEF-544 infection by activating the immune response including melanization and insect molting hormones to shed infected cuticles. In addition to describing the initial stages of Bb JEF-544 infection at the transcriptome level, this work provides potential treatment targets and insight into how fungal isolates can effectively be used to control this serious aphid species.

Bassanianabirudis sp. nov., a new crab spider (Araneae, Thomisidae) from South Korea.

BACKGROUND: The crab spider genus Bassaniana Strand, 1928 consists of six species mainly distributed in North America and Far East Asia. Two species of them, Bassanianadecorata (Karsch, 1879) and Bassanianaora Seo, 1992, are known in Korea so far. NEW INFORMATION: A new crab spider, Bassanianabirudis sp. nov. is described, based on a male collected from Gumi-si, Gyeongsangbuk-do, South Korea. Distribution records are provided, as well as photos of habitus and illustrations of the male copulatory organ. The type specimens of this study are deposited in the collection of the Nakdonggang National Institute of Biological Resources (NNIBR) and Konkuk University (KKU), South Korea.

Four new epigean spiders of the genus Cybaeus (Araneae: Cybaeidae) from South Korea.

The males of four new species of Cybaeus L. Koch, 1868 (Cybaeus yeongwolensis sp. nov., Cybaeus culter sp. nov., Cybaeus vanimaculatus sp. nov., and Cybaeus pseudoauriculatus sp. nov.) are described from leaf litter habitats in South Korea. We provide diagnoses, detailed descriptions, a key to the males of Korean Cybaeus species, and a distribution map for these new species. They appear to be endemic to South Korea and were collected from mixed forests in hilly and mountainous terrain.

Five new species of the genera Falcileptoneta and Longileptoneta (Araneae, Leptonetidae) from South Korea.

Five new leptonetid species belonging to Falcileptoneta Komatsu, 1970 and Longileptoneta Seo, 2015 are newly described from South Korea: F. dolsan sp. nov. (Jeollanam-do), F. naejangsan sp. nov. (Jeollabuk-do), L. buyongsan sp. nov. (Chungcheongbuk-do), L. byeonsanbando sp. nov. (Jeollabuk-do) and L. jirisan sp. nov. (Gyeongsangnam-do). All new species are found in leaf litter and described from both male and female specimens.

A new species of the genus Atypus Latreille, 1804 (Araneae: Atypidae) from Korea.

Worldwide, 30 species of the genus Atypus Latreille, 1804 have been recorded from the United States, Europe, Africa, south-east and far-east Asia (Platnick 2014). Atypid spiders are characterized by a male sternum with marginal ridges, a short, straight and spike-like embolus, a straight conductor and a distally widened vulva with bulbous or pyriform receptacula and with two lateral patches of pores on the genital atrium (Gertsch and Platnick 1980). Kraus and Baur (1974) utilized various taxonomic characters to distinguish between the European species, such as the segmentation of the posterior spinnerets, features of the patellar membrane, morphology of sigilla opposite coxae I and IV, and the male palpal conductor, palpal furrow and male metatarsal spines. The genus Atypus was reviewed by Schwendinger (1990) who redescribed 12 recorded species and discussed the granular texture on the male chelicerae and front legs, and the cymbial pit for distinguishing species. Among 30 Atypus spiders, 18 species are distributed in Far-East Asia; 12 species from China (Zhu et al. 2006), 5 species from Korea (Kim 1985; Namkung 1986, 2001; Kim et al. 2006), and 2 species from Japan (Bösenberg and Strand 1906; Tanikawa 2006). 

A comparison of spider communities in Bt and non-Bt rice fields.

To assess the potential adverse effects of a Bt rice line (Japonica rice cultivar, Nakdong) expressing a synthetic cry1Ac1 gene, C7-1-9-1-B, which was highly active against all larval stages of Cnaphalocrocis medinalis (Guenée) (Lepidoptera: Crambidae), we investigated the community structure of spiders in Bt and non-Bt rice fields during the rice-growing season in 2007 and 2008 in Chungcheongnam-do, Korea. Spiders were surveyed with a sweep net and suction device. Suction sampling captured more spiders, measured in terms of species level and abundance, than sweeping. Araneidae and Thomisidae were captured more by sweeping, and certain species were captured only by sweeping. These findings show that both suction and sweep sampling methods should be used because these methods are most likely complementary. In total, 29 species in 23 genera and nine families were identified from the 4,937 spiders collected, and both Bt and non-Bt rice fields showed a typical Korean spider assemblage. The temporal patterns of spider species richness and spider abundance were very similar between Bt and non-Bt rice, although significant differences in species richness were observed on a few occasions. Overall, spider community structure, including diversity, the dominant species, and abundance did not differ between Bt and non-Bt rice. The results of the study indicated that the transgenic Cry1Ac rice lines tested in this study had no adverse effects on the spider community structure of the rice fields.