Beetle

I was cleaning the toilet and for some reason there was a beetle. I'm not entirely sure why it was there.

I threw it outside.

Bees

I went outside to take out the trash and saw some bees.. I could not stop looking at the bees.

Lizard

Hello and thanks for the submission!Giant ant with a light brownish color and big wide pincers maybe 5cm long... was it anything like this? 

This is a Red Blister Beetle, Synhoria maxillosa.

 I also wonder if it could possibly have been a Japanese  “Kuwagata” (stag beetle) like one of these? (there are many species of stag beetles with more or less of the pincers on front, but all have a large body, wide-stance legs and will lift their heads and open their pincers wide if they think you’re about to eat them)

This particular one is トカラノコギリクワガタ（Prosopocoilus dissimilis elegans. They are beloved children’s pets in Japan and can’t hurt you except to give your finger a reasonably good pinch! Blister Beetles on the other hand pretty much do what it says on the tin. 

Next to my front door today, what the heck is this guy? - @callmegallifreya

Hey! Thank you for your submission and sorry for the long wait.

At first glance I could see you have a Weevil of some type (ゾウムシ、”Zoumushi”, Elephant Bug), but it took some digging to find precisely which one. Japan has around 1000 species of weevils (!). 

I always love when I stumble across something in the most roundabout way, like searching for “Black long horn beetle with yellow spots and white and black antenna that lives in Honshu” and it turns out to be called a “yellow spot Longhorn” or something. It always makes me facepalm because I should honestly remember people name insects with simplicity. Today I should have taken that lesson to heart because you have a

オオゾウムシ　Oo-zoumushi, “Big Weevil”( Sipalinus gigas). 

English name: Giant Weevil. it is the largest weevil in Japan!

Comparison Photo Here. 

Size: 12-34mm

Description: Like other weevils, its proboscis is long and curved downward, giving it the charming Japanese name of “Elephant Bug”. The entire exoskeleton is textured with bumps. A newly-emerged weevil has a fine brown powdery texture over its entire body like velvet, but this is eventually worn away, with older individuals showing more black ‘background color under the paint’, as it were. Bold black streaks along the mottled brown body distinguish this weevil from others with similar brown coloration.

Distribution: Indonesia, Philippines, China, Taiwan, Korea, Kyushu to Hokkaido. 

Behavior: It is known to be drawn to lights at night, and can be found on fallen trees in forests where stag beetles also hang out. These weevils will play dead if harassed, and Japanese Wikipedia also notes they have sharp claws that cling tightly to surfaces such as trees or a human hand, and they are difficult to pull off of a surface. They will continue to cling to a tree so tightly you can pull their legs off before they’ll let go! :o Weevils place their eggs in weak and dead trees and the larvae burrow inwards to feed on trees such as pines, chestnuts and elms. It is considered a pest in lumberyards because it prefers to lay its eggs in dead wood. (Well, it seems a very logical mistake to make, on the weevil’s part.)

Catzos – Sierra Snack Food

I almost couldn’t believe it when I saw catzos con tostado for sale at the local Killa Raymi food festival in Peguche, Ecuador. I was drawn to the table like a moth to a flame. A new food, a new window into Andean culture, and a new experience. What more could I ask for?

I am glad that my Ecuadorian friends had already posted pictures and shared how tasty this snack food could be because it…