Geocoris (Geocoris) proteus Distant 1883

Geocoris (Geocoris) proteus Distant, 1883 (Fig. 2F) Material examined. South Korea. Jeju-do: 4 ♂, 5 ♀, 2 nymphs, Jeju-si, Jocheon-eup, Hamdeok Beach (33.543235, 126.671159), 11.vii.2024, leg. Wonwoong Kim (SCNU). Photographic record. South Korea. Jeju-do: 1 ♂, 1 ♀, Seogwipo-si, 16.vii.2023, photo by WonGun Kim. Distribution. Korea (Jeju Island), Japan (Hokkaido, Honshu, Shikoku, Kyushu) (Ishikawa & Tomokuni 2012c), Russia (Far East: Kuril Islands) (Vinokurov 1988). Comments. This species was first noted from Korea by Yamada (1936), and this identification was followed by later authors. Miyamoto&Lee (1966) provided supporting specimen data from Gyeongsangbuk-do, Gyeongsangnam-do, and Jeju Island. However, Lee et al. (1994) concluded that all previous records of G. proteus from the Korean peninsula refer to G. pallidipennis (Costa, 1843), and deleted G. proteus from the Korean fauna without stating a rationale. There are few records of G. proteus presented by faunal surveys by the Korean authors after Lee et al. (1994) but convincing evidence of the presence of this species in Korea are not available. For example, Kim (1995) noted 5 specimens of G. proteus collected from a port in Îễae (=Docheong-ri, Buan-gun) during the survey of insects of sandy coastal areas in Byeonsan Peninsula (Jeollabuk-do), although there is no further information stated. Recent surveys in Jeju Island by the first and third author revealed that G. proteus is present in Korea, and this species should be added back to the list of Korean Heteroptera. Previous distributional records from Gyeongsangbuk-do and Gyeongsangnam-do provinces need further confirmation.