Seung-gwan Shin

The phylogeny and evolution of weevils (the beetle superfamily Curculionoidea) has been extensively studied, but many relationships, especially in the large family Curculionidae (true weevils; > 50,000 species), remain uncertain. We used phylogenomic methods to obtain DNA sequences from 522 protein-coding genes for representatives of all families of weevils and all subfamilies of Curculionidae. Most of our phylogenomic results had strong statistical support, and the inferred relationships were g

Abstract Cerambycidae is a species‐rich family of mostly wood‐feeding (xylophagous) beetles containing nearly 35 000 known species. The higher‐level phylogeny of C erambycidae has never been robustly reconstructed using molecular phylogenetic data or a comprehensive sample of higher taxa, and its internal relationships and evolutionary history remain the subjects of ongoing debate. We reconstructed the higher‐level phylogeny of C erambycidae using phylogenomic data from 522 single copy nuclear g

Early diverging brachyceran fly lineages underwent a rapid radiation approximately 180 Ma, coincident in part with the origin of flowering plants. This region of the fly tree includes 25 000 described extant species with diverse ecological roles such as blood‐feeding (haematophagy), parasitoidism, predation, pollination and wood‐feeding (xylophagy). Early diverging brachyceran lineages were once considered a monophyletic group of families called Orthorrhapha, based on the shared character of a l

On shiitake farms, mycophagous maggots can cause serious damage by preventing formation of the fruiting body. Recently, these pests have significantly reduced shiitake production in Korea. However, larvae and female adults cannot be identified due to their lack of morphological characteristics. Therefore, farmers and applied entomologists are unable to determine which species is the primary cause of the shiitake damage. In this study, mycophagous flies (colonized larvae) were collected from dama

Cave crickets (Rhaphidophoridae) are insects of an ancient and wingless lineage within Orthoptera that are distributed worldwide except in Antarctica, and each subfamily has a high level of endemicity. Here, we show the comprehensive phylogeny of cave crickets using multi-gene datasets from mitochondrial and nuclear loci, including all extant subfamilies for the first time. We reveal phylogenetic relationships between subfamilies, including the sister relationship between Anoplophilinae and Gamm

Here we propose a new monophyletic subfamily, the Chaetosciarinae, based on previous morphological cladistic and molecular phylogenetic studies. This new subfamily includes the genera Chaetosciara Frey, Mouffetina Frey, Schwenckfeldina Frey, and Scythropochroa Enderlein. We also provide a definition of the new subfamily Chaetosciarinae and describe common morphological key characters. Three Korean Chaetosciarinae species in three genera are reported, all of which are new to Korea and one (Scythr

Phylogenomic data are revolutionizing the field of insect phylogenetics. One of the most tenable and cost-effective methods of generating phylogenomic data is target enrichment, which has resulted in novel phylogenetic hypotheses and revealed new insights into insect evolution. Orthoptera is the most diverse insect order within polyneoptera and includes many evolutionarily and ecologically interesting species. Still, the order as a whole has lagged behind other major insect orders in terms of tr

Abstract Plecia longiforceps Duda (Diptera: Bibionidae) is reported for the first time from Korea. P. longiforceps has been previously known from the East Asian subtropics, south of the 33rd parallel, including southeastern China, Taiwan, and the Ryukyu Islands of Japan. An integrative taxonomic approach based on morphological examination of male genitalia and molecular analysis of mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase subunit I gene sequences confirms the species identification. The recent outbrea

The genus Cratyna Winnertz, 1867 (Diptera: Sciaridae) is studied in the Korean peninsula. Cratyna (s. str.) suwonensis Shin, Menzel & Lee sp. nov. is described as new to science. Additionally, three species are redescribed and illustrated as new to Korea: C. (s. str.) ambigua (Lengersdorf, 1934), C. (s. str.) nigerrima (Mohrig & Krivosheina, 1979), and C. (Peyerimhoffia) vagabunda (Winnertz, 1867). A key to the Korean species is given.