The family Monotomidae Laporte includes about 240 species placed in 33 genera worldwide (Bousquet, 2010) and five species in three genera have been recorded to date in the Korean Peninsula: Monotoma picipes Herbst (by Hisamatsu, 1985); Rhizophagus (Anomophagus) puncticollis Sahlberg, R. (Rhizophagus) japonicus Reitter, R. (R.) nobilis Lewis (by Park et al., 2007); Mimemodes emerichi Mader (by Kang et al., 2008).

Mimemodes Reitter contains 15 species occurring worldwide including nine Palaearctic species, of which five are recorded in Japan (Jelínek, 2007; Bousquet, 2010). In the Korean Peninsula, Kang et al. (2008) first recorded the genus and a single species, Mimemodes emmerichi Mader.

Members of Mimemodes are characterized by the combination of following characters: Head wider than pronotum, male relatively larger than female; antenna appearing with 10 antennomeres, apical antennomere appearing clubbed, antennomere 11 hidden entirely or partially; lateral margins of pronotum strongly round and slightly serrated; elytral surface distinctly punctured with striole; protrochantin not exposed; tarsal formula 4-3-3 (Kang et al., 2008; per. obs.).

Some species of this genus are often found in galleries of scolytine beetles, and known as predators of scolytines and other wood-boring insects. However, little is known about the biology of many members of Mimemodes, except for few species reported by Nakane (1956) and Kishi (1970).

In the present paper, we report an additional Korean species of the genus, namely Mimemodescribratus (Reitter). We provide a redescription, images of habitus and diagnostic characters of the species along with a key to Korean species of Monotomidae. All examined specimens are deposited at Entomological Collection of Korea National Arboretum (KNAE), Pocheon, Republic of Korea.

Materials and Methods

Systematic accounts

Family Monotomidae Laporte, 1840

Subfamily Monotominae Laporte, 1840

Genus MimemodesReitter, 1876 큰머리긴고목벌레속

MimemodesReitter, 1876: 296. Type species: Bactridium monstrosum Reitter, 1874.

Mimemodescribratus (Reitter, 1874) 큰머리톱가슴긴고목벌 레(신칭)(Figs. 1A-F)

Bactridium cribratusReitter, 1874: 515.

MimemodescribratusNakane, 1956: 2; Hisamatsu, 1985: 171; Jelínek, 2007: 493.

Redescription (male). Body (Figs. 1A and B). Length about 2.0 mm; elongate and subparallel-sided, 3.61 times as long as wide (from clypeus to apex of Abdomen). Body entirely reddish brown; distinctly glossy with large and granular punctures. Head (Fig. 1C). Triangular and flat, widest across eyes, approximately 1.16 times wider than pronotum; eyes large and prominent, about 1.65 times as long as temples; Antennae (Fig. 1D). relatively short and robust; antennomere 1 elongate and swollen, 2-3 about as long as wide, 4-9 distinctly transverse, 10 expanded and slightly transverse. Mouthparts. Almost mouthparts hidden under clypeus in dorsal view. Mandible almost symmetrical, pointed at apex, right one with internal tooth; maxilla with developed galea and lacinia with 4 palpomeres, lacinia with many seta at apex and inner margin; labium with 3 palpomeres. Thorax. Pronotum (Fig. 1E) more or less rectangular, approximately 1.10 times as long as wide, widest in apical third to apex; surface with largely and sparsely punctures, with sparser punctures medially; lateral margins with serration and long seta. Scutellum (Fig. 1E) triangular. Meso- and metacoxal cavities distinctly separated, mesoventral process truncate at apex, longer than metaventral process. Metaventrite with medial longitudinal line from posterior end to approximately anterior third, with large punctures antero-laterally and sparser small punctures medially. Elytra approximately 1.69 times as wide as pronotum, widest at middle; surface with glanular puncture lines; interspace between puncture lines less than the width of punctures; hind wings fully developed. Legs. Short and robust; last tarsomere of all tarsi longer than the combined length of the other tarsomeres. Abdomen. Sternites III-VII with large and dense punctures medially; sternite III with many long setae medially. Male genitalia. Pygidium exposed to posterior of elytra, with minute puncture, posterior margin round. Aedeagus as in Fig. 1F.

Material examined. 1♂, KOREA: Gyeonggi Prov., Yangpyeong-gun, Cheongun-myeon, Dowon-ri, N37°32′51.05″ E127°47′29.92″, 6. vii. 2017, M.-S. Kim leg., under bark of Pinus koraiensis Siebold and Zucc (Pinaceae).

Distribution. Korea (South) and Japan.

Remarks. Mimemodescribratus is similar to M. emmerichi, but can be distinguished by the characters provided in the key and different shape and structure of aedeagus. Previously known only from Japan, this species is recorded for the first time in Korea.

Biology. This species was collected under the bark of Pinus koraiensis Siebold and Zucc (Pinaceae) with many adults of scolytine species including Tomicus piniperda (Linnaeus). In Japan, Mimemodes japonus Reitter is known as an important egg predator of Cryphalus fulvus Niijima (Coleoptera: Curculionidae), which is a notorious pest to Pinus densiflora Siebold and Zucc. (Pinaeae) (Kishi, 1970).

Key to Korean species of Monotomidae

(modified from Nakane, 1956; Hisamatsu, 1985; Park et al., 2007; Kang et al., 2008)