A new species of the genus Coecobrya, inhabiting termite nests in Guangdong Province, is described and illustrated. This new species differs from other known species by the following combination of characters: white body, eyeless, clypeal and ventral tube chaetotaxy, tiny smooth chaetae on the labial base, four dorsal macrochaetae on abdominal segment I, and five macrochaetae in the central region of abdominal segment IV. In addition, a key to the Chinese species of Coecobrya is provided.
A total of three species in three genera of the tribe Eupariini are recognized in the Korean Peninsula. Two additional Eupariini species, Ataenius australasiae (Boheman) and Setylaides tsujii Kakizoe, Kawahara & Ochi are recorded in Korea for the first time. A key, along with photographs of the habitus, habitats, and diagnostic characters, is provided.
Alpine relict plant populations are increasingly threatened by climate-driven changes in vegetation structure and intensified interspecific competition. We examined population structure, reproductive performance, and functional traits of Primula farinosa subsp. modesta across inland (Ungseokbong, Jirisan) and island (Hallasan) high-elevation habitats in South Korea. Population size structure differed among sites, showing reverse J-shaped distributions in inland populations but a unimodal distribution in Hallasan. Reproductive performance varied significantly among sites: fruit set averaged 83.4% in Ungseokbong and 52.0% in Jirisan, but only 5.5% in Hallasan. Moreover, 81.1% of flowering individuals in Hallasan failed to produce fruit, indicating a severe reproductive bottleneck. Functional trait analysis revealed a shift toward resource-conservative strategies with increasing elevation, characterized by decreased specific leaf area and increased leaf mass per area. These patterns suggest that the Hallasan population faces a demographic bottleneck likely driven by synergistic abiotic and biotic factors, including environmental stress, interspecific competition, and potential pollinator limitation. Overall, population structure, fruit set, and functional traits serve as effective indicators for assessing high-elevation plant vulnerability, highlighting the need for site-specific conservation strategies that account for local environmental dynamics.
Sandy habitats have been artificially modified and are vulnerable to climate change. Consequently, insects inhabiting these habitats are at risk of extinction, yet their genetic diversification remains poorly understood. This study constructed haplotype networks for three Polyphylla beetle species inhabiting coastal and bankside sandy habitats, including two endangered species, P. albolineata and P. laticollis. A total of 69 haplotypes were identified from 102 specimens of P. albolineata, P. laticollis, and P. schoenfeldti. Their distributional patterns were complex and could not be readily explained by geographical distance alone. This study also examined the evolutionary history of the relationship of these beetles with the phoretic mite Coleolaelaps longisetatus. The Procrustean Approach to Cophylogeny suggested incomplete co-diversification of the host beetles and phoretic mites.
