#ectobiidae

it was nice to finally find an adult Ectobius that wasn't feeling slippery, the nymphs are cute but the adults' wings really steal the show. unfortunately i couldn't get a frontal or even lateral shot to display the classic sad roach face but you can't ask for too much in life

@purrdence missed her bus back to the hotel because she spotted this insect and pursued it to get a photo for me. She was understandably a bit cross to find out it was just a cockroach nymph, but at least it wasn't the closely related and better-known pest species Blattella germanica.

Found in the southern half of Japan, the Korean peninsula, and parts of China. In the wild, this species is a known disperser of the seeds of the fungus-parasitising plant Monotropastrum humile.

Basil Cockroach

Balta bicolor

a little wood cockroach nymph exploring an oak. i have no idea about this thing's genus but it was a fun find, those spots and comically large cerci are very charming and even though i see ectobiids occasionally, the adults are very difficult to approach and photograph. i was glad to find out the nymphs are more polite