Wednesday, August 17, 2011

Day "Bug" Camp at Mt. Daisen

Today our school had it's third and final summer camp excursion. We went bug hunting at Mt. Daisen with, yet again, Mr. Tahara, one of the very friendly and knowledgeable staff at Mori no Kuni camping resort area. In the morning, we went hunting for cicadas and other bugs I caught a frog, the giant oniyanma オニヤンマ dragonfly known as the banded dragonfly, the largest dragonfly in Japan, as long as my hand. And the scary looking kamikii mushi  カミキリムシ  or Asian long horned beetle. Other kids caught lots of cicadas, grasshoppers, crickets, prayng mantises, an one girl caught a small  kuwagata クワガタ or stag beetle, highly prized among Japanese kids.  I eventually let the oniyanma dragonfly go, but kept the frog and beetle. The kamikiri mushi is a rather large beetle, black with white spots, long antenna, and a wasp like head with scissor like jaws. Despite it's appearance, it's harmless and feeds on trees. 

After a lunch of yakisoba, fried noodles, we went to the river to hunt for fish or other creatures. We all had a grand time. Here are good pics of the bugs, not mine:


1 comment:

Marylou said...

Thanks for sharing you interesting day at Mt Daisen.
I am an artist and I am painting a bug a day. So far I have about 60 paintings...your bug photos were great and inspiring. Mary Nichols (St, Louis, Missouri)

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