Journal 
A perennial woody species, Eucommia ulmoides Oliv., is the monotypic species of the monotypic genus belonging to Eucommiaceae. The origin of E. ulmoides is China, where this plant is a rare plant and naturally growing at an altitude 300~2,500 m in the downstream region of the Yangtze River. In 1930, it has been introduced firstly from Japan to Korea and was propagated by planting in a Forestry Experiment Station. During 40-50 years since its introduction, this plant had not been widely cultivated in Korea, because of non-breeding technology and ignorance of medicinal value. But the medicinal value was reported around 1980, thereafter the cultivation area has been rapidly increasing (Rural Development Administration, 2013).
If cutting the fruit, the gummy viscous thread comes out, which is called the Eucommia ulmoides Oliv. or Chinese E. ulmoides Oliv. in the Chinese medicine, and the bark of tree has been used as the tonic, but in recent years, the leaves and seeds are also used together (Cho, 2011; Lee, 2003; Lee, 2006).
The Protegira songi was described under the genus Orthosia by Chen & Zhang (1995) from China and reported as a major pest which feeds the leaves of E. ulmoides. The outbreak of this moth causing a severe damage on E. ulmoides was reported in Henan, Shandong, Beijing and Heibei etc. (Du et al., 2000). Later, the genus of this species was transferred to Protegira (Ronkay et al., 2010). In Korea, E. ulmoides was recently reported from Prov. Gyeongnam by An et al. (2013) with no record of host plants.
In Seoul, Prov. Chungnam and Prov. Jeonbuk areas during Summer in 2013, this harmful insect larvae attacking seriously and leaving only the vein of E. ulmoides was occurred. These larvae was identified as P. songi, which is newly reported pest on E. ulmoides In Korea.
Therefore, this study was aimed to report the present status of the occurrence of P. songi from Korea and provide the basic data for monitoring and local state of this pest with illustrating the external morphological characteristics.
Materials and Methods
In order to survey noctuid pests on E. ulmoides in 2013, the authors investigated occurring localities and appearing seasons on national scale in Korea. In addition, totally 30 larvae from E. ulmoides were collected to rear and identify the species from Chungnam Forest Environment Research Institute on Sep. 7, 2013. The larvae collected were reared in a breeding container in the laboratory. In order to rear the larvae, fresh E. ulmoides leaves were supplied, and the petioles were wrapped with cotton soaked in water to maintain the vigor. The larvae were checked every day. Finally, 15 adults were successfully emerged from the reared individuals and examined for species identification.
Obtaining the adults, the external characteristics and structure of the male and female genitalia were examined by a microscope. The material examined in this study are now preserved in Systematic Entomology Laboratory, Hannam University, Daejeon, Korea (SELHNU).
Taxonomic accounts
Order Lepidoptera Linnaeus, 1758.
Family Noctuidae, Latreille, 1809.
Subfamily Hadeninae Guenée 1837.
Genus Protegira Ochsenheimer, 1816: 79.
<Type species: Noctua instabilis [Denis & Schiffermüller], 1775>
Protegira songi Chen & Zhang, 1995 두충밤나방(신칭) (Figs. 1-3)
Adult
(Fig. 1). Wingspan 25~30 mm. Head: brownish; vertex mixed brownish and black scales; antennae brown; labial palpus short; proboscis without scales. Thorax: brownish; tegula dense dark brown scales, Legs black and brown striped pattern. Forewing ground color dark brownish; costal margin straight towards apex, outer margin curved; basal dash short, tornal dash broad in width; orbicular spot blurry, reniform spot large, pale brown; antemedial line absent, postmedial line a string of arched, subterminal line fuscous brown. Hindwing dark brownish, mixed with light brown scales along termen; apex somewhat rounded; fringe brownish.
Larva
Body length 27~35 mm. Head capsule blackish. Thoracic legs incarnadine. Body dark brown with a white line on pleurum surface of thorax.
Male genitalia
(Figs 2-2a). Uncus wide and long hairs. Teguman broad triangular shape, sclerotized. Saccus strongly sclerotized, sharp, innumerable hairs. Valva symmetrical, wide, round with numerous short hairs on the terminal area also with a numerous long hairs on the dorsal margin, clasper long uncinate, apex angular. Aedeagus as long as valva, broad, round apex.
Female genitalia
(Fig. 3). Ovipositor narrow and Y-shaped, apophyses posteriores thin straight line, ostium bursae slightly round, apophyses anteriores short, ductus bursae same length as corpus bursa, ductus bursae with pocket-like part terminally, corpus bursae oval with two differently sized signa.
Material examined
9♂ 6♀ Keumkang Recreational Forest, Geumnam-myeon, Sejong Special Self-Goverming City, 7. Ⅸ.2013 (Y. J. Kim.), genitalia slide no. HNU 5072, HNU 5074, HNU 5081-coll. EHNU.
Distribution.
Korea, China
Host plant. Eucommia ulmoides Oliv. Eucommiaceae) is reported for the first time from Korea in this study.
Occurrence and damage (Figs. 4-7)
P. songi was found throughout Prov. Chungnam, including whole area of Geumgang Arboretum, Geumnam-myeon, Sejong Metropolitan Autonomous City; Seonhak-ri, Sinpung-myeon, Gonju City; Gapsa, surroundings Gyeryong Mountain, Gongju City; Gayasan Provincial park, Deoksan-myeon, Yesan County in early September 2013. The feeding damage of E. ulmoides (about 660 m2) was also found in Jangam-ri, Deokchi-myeon, Imsil County; Daea Arboretum, Jeonju City; Experiment Forest of Jeonbuk University, Buan City m Prov. Jeonbuk on September 4, 2013. It occurs also in May and September 2013 at E. ulmoides plantation of Hongneung Arboretum, Korea Forest Research Institute, Seoul.
The larvae showed a feeding habit that they gnawed all leaves of E. ulmoides and left only leaf veins. It was observed that their body color was changed to green in young larval stage and to dark brown in old larval stage. The larval period of P. songi was an average 12 days ranging from 10 to 14 days in room temperature. The pupal period was an average 28 days ranging from 22 to 55 days. Ronkay et al. (2010) noted that this is the first known Orthosiini species producing two generations per year.
Discussion
E. ulmoides shows various medicinal effects, and it is one of the most popular tree species in Korea, because it has many useful ingredients. Insect pests that attack E. ulmoides has not been known until now in Korea. But this study reports firstly the harm damage of this insect pest in this country. Especially, it is concerned that the damage of E. ulmoides may be seriously increased in the future, because the larvae have defoliating feeding habit on E. ulmoides when massively occurred. Therefore, it is considered that a forest pest monitoring for this pest thoroughly carried out in the damaged areas in 2013 and nearby areas. At present, it is difficult to determine whether this species is invasive or not due to poor information for this species. Thus, it is considered that more epidemiological investigation should be conducted in the future.
KSAE
