The Genetic Diversity of the Asian Spongy Moth, Lymantria dispar asiatica Vnukovskii (Lepidoptera: Erebidae), in Korea Based on Mitochondrial COI Analysis.

In this study, we assessed the genetic diversity of the Asian spongy moth, Lymantria dispar asiatica Vnukovskii (Lepidoptera: Erebidae), in Korea. We obtained 123 sequences of the species, including those from 26 regions in Korea. We analyzed the genetic diversity within the Korean samples (n = 87) and haplotype networks between the Korean and global samples (123 sequences from 26 regions in Korea and five other countries) using median-joining (MJ) network analysis. The results showed low nucleotide diversity and high haplotype diversity (π = 0.00159; Hd = 0.660). The neutrality tests were also significantly negative. The MJ network recovered a star-shaped network with diverse populations in Korea, with 12 haplotypes and a dominating haplotype, H07, in all regions. Two haplogroups, Middle and Southern, were identified. The Middle haplogroup included haplotypes from Shandong, China, indicating shared populations between the two regions. In contrast, the Southern haplogroup, primarily found in ship and harbor samples, likely originated from invasive populations. This pattern reflects the influence of human activities such as international trade, highlighting the importance of strict monitoring at ports to prevent the introduction of invasive pests and to support effective forest pest management.