Hipparchia autonoe, designated Natural Monument no. 458, is a species inhabiting Mt. Halla on Jeju Island, which is the only habitat of H. autonoe in South Korea. Recently, this species is in danger of extinction as the population has been remarkably reduced because its host plants and nectar plants are gradually disappearing due to plant succession in its habitat. On the climbing road of Jeju Island Eorimok, H. autonoe used to be observed at and above 1300 m a.s.l. However, since Sasa quelpaertensis has recently expanded its habitat up to 1400 m, H. autonoe is now observed at and above 1500 m. In Mongolia, the population of H. autonoe seems quite stable as there are dense populations of a host plant and nectar plants. Accordingly it is judged that we can maintain a stable community for support of H. autonoe if we successfully manage the host plant and nectar plant communities by controlling the density of S. quelpaertensis using biological and physical control methods. Comparative analysis of DNA barcode region of COI (658 bp) was done to check the homogeneity and the genetic diversity of H. autonoe collected in Korea and Mongolia. The DNA sequence difference among individuals collected in South Korea was 0.0–0.2%, and in Mongolia 0.0–1.4%. This confirmed a 0.06–1.2% barcoding gap. We believe that this result will provide basic information useful to guide conservation of H. autonoe in South Korea.
The annual herb Bidens frondosa L., native to North America, is an invasive weed. Currently no information is available on the insect herbivores associated with this weed in Korea. A survey was carried out at two‐weekly intervals from May to October 2008 at two sites, and the incidence and abundance of various insect herbivores studied. A total nine species of insects was recorded and among them the defoliating caterpillar Hadjina chinensis (Wallengren) (Lepidoptera) was the only species known to have host plants restricted to genus Bidens. Further host specificity studies are required to evaluate the potential of this insect as a candidate for augmentative biological control agent for B. frondosa in Korea. All other insect species are either polyphagous or known crop pests.
One conclusion of this study is that as the road network expands in rural and remote areas the surrounding butterfly populations are generally noted to be decreasing or even disappearing. However, there is one exception, Libythea celtis. This common species, living close to forested areas, have actually increased while thier competing species have decreased according to this study. The endangered species of Korea, Parnassius bremeri, Sinia divina and Argynnis nerippe, which inhabit the area of the study have also decreased or disappeared. Another result of this study is that, while the number of species which inhabit the grasslands have decreased, no similar changes have been noted in the number for the species which inhabit the shrubs. Furthermore, there has been a growth in the numbers of the species that inhabit trees. In addition, the number of individuals has decreased in the grasslands and shrubs but increased in the trees. Overall, the general conclusion of this study is that, while the development of rural and remote areas showed a decrease in the number of specific butterfly species, they are being replaced by more common species.
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