Bugs of Japan

Hello. Thank you for your amazing job.

I witnessed this green « moth »? In Ome, Tokyo.

Looks like ヒロヘリアオイラガ but I’m not quite sure.

Thank you for your expertise.

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Good morning! Thanks for taking the time to submit a moth to my blog.

  It looks like the moth you submitted is a lovely ‘Ashibuto-Chizumon-Aoshaku’ アシブトチズモンアオシャク, or Agathia visenda curvifiniens. It is in the Geometridae family. Reference pic below:

Good morning!

I am not an expert (sadly), just an enthusiastic amateur, so my identifications are best for common bugs-- because there just aren't a ton of resources about Japanese arthropoda in English, it can be a real slog to even find out what a particular insect is even called in English or Japanese. To that end, I use a variety of Japanese blogs, Wikipedia, and one great Japanese butterfly book. I'm happy to share my resources!

Above: "日本のチョウ” Field Guide to Butterflies.

Beetles (Koganemushi) - Same website, other insects here

Wasps (other insects found at links at top)

Caterpillars

Arachnids (photo blog)

Bug Dictionary

Butterflies (Kobayashi Mochimitsu's photos, with great descriptions in English)

Insects Organized by Family

Shield Bugs

Flies (other insects at top link)

Longhorn beetles

Moths - with Latin names

Sphingidae (Moths)

Caterpillars

Good morning!

This looks like you’ve found another example of the mind-blowing larvae of the Lobster Moth Caterpillar -- see other submission here: https://bugsofjapan.tumblr.com/post/150760004627/weird-bug

There’s a short Youtube video here of a guy raising them: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AFcE2Va1INw

These caterpillars break all the rules, don’t they?  Horrible-looking long spindly legs, big head on a weird neck, end of the abdomen held high like a scorpion, and the normally stubby claspers evolved into long structures, apparently for no reason! However, Wikipedia gives us a hint about a potential benefit for evolving like this: “If the larva is disturbed during this period it wriggles about violently in the same manner as an injured ant.” 

“Found in a Tokyo school. My students were keen to identify it.”

Good evening!

Thanks for your submission to Bugs of Japan. The bug you sent is clearly a Stink Bug (kamemushi), but there are several varieties in Japan and they are all a little bit different. Kame-mushi are a little bit special when we say "bugs" because they are actually True Bugs (hemiptera), which also includes cicadas, aphids and bedbugs, and a distinguishing feature is that they have piercing/sucking mouthparts (like a straw) in both their baby (nymph) and adult forms.

The particular Stink Bug you've sent appears to be a "Kimadara Kamemushi" (see comparison photos here https://ameblo.jp/murmecophaga/entry-12618123641.html ), Erthesina fullo. (English name: yellow-spotted stink bug or yellow marmorated stink bug.)  

“Found this cluster of insects. They were on top of what looked like a patch of silver eggs. I’m in Okinawa and they were on my patio closet door. “-CW

Good morning! Sorry for the delay, I haven’t been keeping up with this blog very often.

My best guess is - you have stink bugs! (カメムシ, Kamemushi) Their name is more respectful in Japanese- “Turtle bug”. 

Most stink bugs feed on the juices of plants, though some species eat other insects, such as caterpillars. The adults are commonly seen in cities during the late summer, and are slow-moving, but will release a bitter smell if handled or damaged-- however they do not bite people or pets. 

Hello! Thanks for your submission! You’ve found my all-time favorite bug of Japan and the one on my header image, a Papilio xuthus , Chinese Yellow Swallowtail (called “Ageha” or “Nami-ageha”). 

“Sorry the picture is not really good. These bugs live in the floor, in the tatami or maybe in the wood. They are about 1cm in size and their color is a grayish gold. They come out when it’s quiet or when it’s dark. I would like to know what they are and if they are harmless or not. Thank you very much for your time.

-N”

Hello Anon! Very dark black sounds like a butterfly to me indeed, and there are quite a few butterflies and moths that have ‘surprise’ coloring on the underwings that’s only shown in flight or when they are startled by a predator--they can flash these eyespots or bright colors to scare a bird away.  There are some BIG butterflies in Japan, and some are FAST. Like REAL FAST. Like the Great Mormon butterfly (Papilio memnon) can zoom along a street at 30 feet in the air about as fast as a car, and you just think “was that a HUGE butterfly or a really weird bird??”

Papilio protenor:

Byasa alcinous

“Hello, I came across this tumblr, and would like some help identifying this particular bug.

Just some background information: I currently sell drinks out here in West Tokyo (Tachikawa), and generally work with a lot of sugar. My shop is also brightly lit, with neon lights and lots of LEDs. Some weeks ago, I’ve spotted a few of these bugs hanging around my neon lights and LEDs. Although it was fine at the start, starting last week there were more and more of them flying around, so I checked around and discovered a whole cluster of them hidden a section in my shop between the ceiling and a partition where I’ve got a strip of LEDs, and hosed down the whole area with some bug spray. However, it didn’t even take a day for a few of them to start flying around again. I plan to call an exterminator to deal with this, but I would also like to know just what bug is this so I could read up on it.  

It’s got a long black body, with hairy feelers, long legs, flies, and is usually found near or perched on light sources.” Hello! Thanks for the submission!  With the help of the bug experts on Reddit, they believe your insect is a Non-Biting Midge. As the name implies, they look a bit like mosquitoes but do not bite, are attracted to lights, and are seasonal. Mostly they are a nuisance. Here's a useful PDF about their behavior: https://www.pub.gov.sg/Documents/Midge%20webpage%20guide%20PDF.pdf 

Non-Biting Midge

“Found this skin in my wardrobe, on top of a piece of clothing. There was a live bug too: it moved relatively quickly in the style of a millipede or silverfish. What is it? And do I need to get rid of them?

Thank you very much for your help!

-H.J.“

Based on that photo I think it's a Black Carpet Beetle larva or shed, comparison photos here: http://bugeric.blogspot.com/2014/11/black-carpet-beetles-attagenus-spp.html 

Weirdly enough, I couldn’t find much information on them in Japanese at all, I wonder if they are widely known?

This is about all the information I have on Phasmids in Japan, and there aren’t many to choose from ;)Left to right: Toge-Nanafushi, Tobi-Nanafushi, Nanafushi (Phraortes elongatus), Eda-NanafushiNot pictured: The Okinawan Stick Insect (Okinawa-Nanafushi or Amami-Nanafushi)

Stick insects can get very robust!

Ladybug larva on Camellia japonica, 5/5/2016

Argiope amoena, (Kogane-gumo) (”Golden Spider”)

“In North America, Argiope aurantia is commonly known as the black and yellow garden spider, zipper spider, corn spider, or writing spider, because of the similarity of the web stabilimenta to writing.The East Asian species Argiope amoena is known in Japan as kogane-gumo. In the Philippines, they are known as gagambang ekis ("X spider"), and gagambang pari ("priest spider", due to the spider's body resembling a priest's head with a mitre). The average orb web is practically invisible, and it is easy to blunder into one and end up covered with a sticky web. The visible pattern of banded silk made by Argiope is pure white, and some species make an "X" form, or a zigzag type of web (often with a hollow centre). The spider then aligns one pair of its legs with each of the four lines in the hollow "X", making a complete "X" of white lines with a very eye-catching spider forming its centre.The zigzag patterns, called stabilimenta, reflect UV light.[3] They have been shown to play a role in attracting prey to the web, and possibly in preventing its destruction by large animals. The centres of their large webs are often just under 1 metre above the ground, so they are too low for anything much larger than a rabbit to walk under. The overtness of the spider and its web thus has been speculated to prevent larger creatures from accidentally destroying the web and possibly crushing the spider underfoot.“ --Wikipedia

These garden spiders can grow to intimidating size (as shown above) and can spin webs that span a creek, sidewalk, or garden path, which is as startling as you may imagine for both the spider and the human trying to traverse the sidewalk. However, the Kogane-gumo is a lovely and helpful predator friend who will pick her territory and stick to it, not wanting to run across anybody’s bed at night like her cousin the cheeky Huntsman. 

Kogane-gumo are most often found in the summer time after hatching, where they will spread away from their hatching site and set up little webs along the same stretch of road or shrubbery and then grow fat during the warm season.