Insects that will make you change your mind about visiting Japan

Appearance

When kumo is in animal form, he looks like a huge old spider with wild red eyes, and sharp stingers can be seen on his paws. In such a terrifying form, the werewolf does not mind feasting on a human being. And when the kumo turns into a human, then a sweet girl appears before you, albeit with cold beauty, which, however, does not prevent her from luring gullible men into her trap, and then devouring them.

According to rumors from those who have seen kumo, they most often take the form of a girl of unknown age, but quite young. She is dressed in a dark brown or black kimono, on which you can see a beautiful golden pattern in the form of a cobweb. Her beauty does not immediately strike her down, but gradually and imperceptibly penetrates the heart, capturing it completely, which leads to the victim’s admiration of the kumo.

By the way, werewolf spiders of the exclusively female version have a separate name - Joryo-gumo. It can be translated as “charming lady.” However, there is another version of the name, more offensive - “whore spider”.

Insects that will make you change your mind about visiting Japan

To define cute things in Japan, there is a separate word “kawaii”, which is deeply rooted in the modern cultural society of the country. Outside the big cities with their kawaii souvenirs and advertising, there is a harsh Japanese environment filled with arachnids and creepy insects. Only a very, very brave person would risk calling them cute.

In Japan, the giant hornet is called "suzumebachi" and is translated as "sparrow-bee". Why this name? The fact is that this hornet is the size of a sparrow. These hornets have a very bad character, huge stings and a very strong necrotic poison inside. Also, these insects mark their prey with special pheromones, chasing it for several kilometers. The Japanese giant hornet kills up to 40 people a year, more than any other Japanese animal or insect.

Cicadas are known all over the world, but only in Japan have these insects become a symbol of the animal world. The sounds these animals make are used in the background of Japanese films and are mentioned in legendary works of literature. In general, these insects are completely harmless, except that they are a little creepy and very loud.

The Japanese stink bug belongs to the family of true stink bugs - a hefty bug. This insect feeds exclusively on fruits, sucking out all their liquid, does not bite and is basically harmless. Just don’t touch it, since the defensive reaction of this animal fully corresponds to its nickname.

A spider from the family of golden weavers is considered by biologists to be one of the largest spiders on the planet. This spider is large enough to catch even small birds in its web. It is also quite poisonous - somewhere on the level of a black widow. In Japanese mythology, based on this spider, there is a mythical character, the were-spider Yorogumo, who takes the form of a beautiful woman who lures men into her webs and then eats them.

"Denki Mushi" is an "electric caterpillar" from Japan. This caterpillar looks quite cute until you touch it, as you get a noticeable electric shock. In fact, this caterpillar does not produce electricity, but it releases chemicals that mimic an electrical charge very well.

The huntsman spider from Japan is a non-venomous spider that is not interested in humans. This is where the advantages of this insect end, since this type of arachnid can grow up to 30 centimeters in size and loves to make unexpected jumps on its prey. Therefore, a suddenly revived mosquito can turn any person into an arachnophobe.

Legends of Kumo

In most cases, kumo was encountered on the territory of the Land of the Rising Sun, but there were exceptions. One such case occurred in China. According to legend, the were-spider became a Buddhist monk and began playing a musical instrument called the zither. A traveler walked by and approached the monk, who, without thinking twice, gave him a zither. But as soon as the traveler took the gift in his hands, it immediately turned into a web and entangled him.

There is another legend about kumo and a musical instrument. In it, a merchant stops for the night in a kumo's house, of course, not knowing where he ended up. And so, as night fell, the were-spider in female form began to play the shamisen, thereby trying to lure the merchant. This happened three times, but each time the man cut the web and was freed. Finally, he managed to hit the woman herself, after which she ran away to the second floor of the house. When morning came, the merchant tried to find the stranger, but found only an old, wounded spider. Then the man guessed everything and hurried to finish off the werewolf.

It only remains to add that when the victim has already fallen into the web and is well entangled in it, then the kumo takes on its spider form. This is necessary in order to inject digestive juices into the victim and then prepare it for subsequent consumption and better absorption. Therefore, before death, the victim will have to look at the eight-eyed monster, and not at the cute face...

<Ningyo - Japanese mermaid Snake woman nure-onna>

For a whole year I had the opportunity to live in extraordinary proximity to Japanese nature, although this was the territory of one of the largest universities in the country.

Osaka University of Foreign Languages ​​is located in the small town of Mino, an hour and a half by bus and train from the center of Osaka itself. The university is located on the outskirts, so that, in fact, civilization ends there. Behind the dormitory buildings lie what seemed to me to be endless mountains. However, very soon the picture will change. Another city will be built - Saito, and a monorail station will appear. The boundaries of civilization will expand.

Closeness to nature meant not only fresh mountain air, a huge sky not obscured by skyscrapers and relative silence, but also the likelihood of stumbling upon a poisonous centipede, a huge cockroach, or even a snake...

I was extremely “lucky” in meeting centipedes (or centipedes). They are called mukade,

which literally means “one hundred legs.”
I have seen similar creatures in Crimea. Apparently, they love very hot climates, because they appear in the midst of summer. The encyclopedic dictionary says about scolopendra: “Scolopendra, a family of arthropods of the class of labiopods. The body is from 3 to 27 cm long. The body is flattened, divided into segments (up to 27), each of which carries a pair of legs. There are poisonous glands. Distributed in tropical and subtropical zones and in the temperate south.” As you can see, these are not even insects, but animals! As far as I know, relatives of Japanese mukade
living in the CIS bite painfully, but not fatally, but
a mukade
can be fatal, especially if the victim is a child.

mukade season

(the hottest period of summer) warning announcements appear about them. A notice posted in one of the dormitories for foreign students said that if you were attacked by a centipede, you should immediately call an ambulance.

It seemed to me that since I live on the fifth floor, mukade

would not dare to rise so high, but... Oh, how wrong I was!
Poisonous centipedes appeared in my room more than once and for some reason always in the same place. Maybe the unfortunate animal did not want to harm me, but it looked very disgusting, so I followed the principle: “The best way to defend is to attack.” I used all the shoes I had, with which I drove the incessantly squirming monster into the floor with all my might. Realizing that no matter how weak the mukade was,
I was not able to pick it up and move it outside my home, I used the vacuum cleaner. While the neighbor went to get a vacuum cleaner, I pressed the enemy with all the shoes at hand. The vacuum cleaner hose shook in our hands like a machine gun firing a continuous burst. And what a squeal there was! In the end, we defeated the monster, but then every time we cleaned we were afraid that it would break out.

Another time I was luckier. Mukade

discovered by a Japanese friend who was just visiting me. Muttering something like “Oh, what a dangerous animal,” he calmly and even somehow carefully took the centipede with a thin napkin and threw it out the window. I didn’t even realize at first that he was catching someone in the corner. And when I realized that I had just been saved from a terrible beast, I involuntarily thought about the composure of the Japanese samurai.

Many Japanese, apparently, have been accustomed to meeting mukade

and perceive them as an equal part of the surrounding world. Almost all the inhabitants of the Japanese islands have at some time been attacked by scolopendra, and, according to them, its bite is almost unbearable pain, but they do not fall into hysterics, like foreigners, at the sight of these insects.

By the way, a creature resembling a mukade

even appears in the famous cartoon by Miyazaki Hayao “My Neighbor Totoro” (“Tonari no Totoro”), on which several generations of children have grown up. It crawls across the screen in the company of all sorts of other living creatures as the credits roll and the song plays.

I was never able to get an answer from the Japanese about how best to deal with mukade.

They live side by side with them, and the thought of active struggle somehow does not come to mind, although there are many different means on sale.

My teacher, who lives on the outskirts of Kyoto, told me that frogs and snakes are frequent guests in her house. I remember the film “The Forest is My School” (“Morino Gakko:” directed by Nishigaki Yoshiharu), which was once shown at the Japanese Film Festival in St. Petersburg. People discover a snake not far from their house, but no one is afraid, but, on the contrary, everyone seems to be happy - this means that the house has a protector, a keeper.

Of course, if you live in a metropolis, you don’t have to worry about centipedes and snakes, and you can get closer to work, but in Japan it is considered more prestigious to live further from the center. Not far from our university, as I was told, only rich people lived.

Still, how diverse is the fauna of Japan! Once a silver lizard ran across the road in front of me. In the evening, the windows were covered with swarms of midges and slow-moving green beetles. These beetles turned out to be something like our bedbugs - once you crush such a bug, there will be no escape from the smell. Later I learned their name - kamemushi,

which is what “forest bug” means.
One Japanese woman I know, without a hint of fear or disgust, picked up a huge rhinoceros beetle. He was the size of a small hamster! In Japanese, the rhinoceros beetle is called kabutomushi.
Kabuto means "helmet" or "helmet", and
mushi means
"insect".
Indeed, the insect has a straight samurai uniform with a horned helmet on its head. I was told that there is a geji-geji
("centipede flytrap") insect, and rumor has it that if it lands on your head, you are likely to go bald.
Once, some Japanese friends suggested that a large group of us go out to admire fireflies (hotaru).
I didn’t find this very interesting, because it is known that, although the glow is extremely beautiful, it comes from inconspicuous worms... However, it is curious that in Japan, in addition to admiring cherry blossoms, autumn maples, the moon and snow, there is also admiration for insects.

And, of course, Sami -

cicadas! It was believed that in Mino the cicadas were especially noisy. Naturally, the further from the big city, the more living beings enjoy life. They sang in different voices, not stopping day or night. It seemed as if their crackling made the air, heated from the heat, melt more and more. A monotonous chirping filled your brain, and it felt like cicadas had settled right in your head.

And yet I agree with those Japanese who believe that living outside the city is better. After all, in a metropolis you can’t even see the sky behind the skyscrapers.

E.K.

Table of contents

Reptiles and snakes

Great Flattail

Tiger snake

Yellow-green keffiyeh

Eastern Cottonmouth

Horned dragon

Japanese turtle

The most dangerous spiders in Japan

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Welcome to the new post, my friend, today I will show and tell you about the most dangerous spiders in Japan, let's go

It was difficult for me to compile this top, because I am an archnophobe and terribly afraid of spiders

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Huntsman Spider

This eight-eyed spider can grow up to 30 centimeters in diameter. It is not considered deadly, but it can cause a lot of trouble to the one it bites while defending itself. The huntsman spider invades human habitats, especially garages. It also quite often penetrates residential buildings in rural areas and sometimes in cities. These spiders are not very dangerous, but they can drive a person into a state of shock with just their appearance. It can be especially bad for arachnophobes.

A huntsman spider bite causes severe pain and swelling, which may be accompanied by headaches, nausea and vomiting. Unpredictable infections and allergic reactions can cause serious complications of the skin, blood or organs, so if you are bitten, you should immediately seek medical help.

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Redback spider

This spider belongs to the black widows - a well-known species of spider that is considered the most poisonous on the planet, native to Australia. These spiders were first found in Japan in 1995 in the city of Osaka, after which these arthropods began to take over the Japanese archipelago. Since then they have been observed more than a hundred times. Red-backed spiders came to Japan from Australia, most likely during the transportation of goods. They bite thousands of people every year.

Many people have been bitten in the genital area while using the toilet because the spider climbed into toilets.

So far, no human deaths have been reported in Japan due to the bite of this spider, but deaths of pets from its attacks occur periodically.

The redback spider's venom is neurotoxic, meaning it affects the nervous system. The victim will begin to experience steadily increasing pain within 24 hours. It is accompanied by profuse sweating, vomiting, acute headache and restlessness. Also, sometimes swelling of the extremities occurs, during which they increase 2-3 times. Pain and symptoms of the bite can last up to seven weeks from the time of the bite. The antidote is available in all hospitals.

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Spider Yoro

Spiders are found everywhere and always, but in Japan there are poisonous spiders such as yoro; in terms of their danger and the effect of their poison, they are compared to a black widow. The yoro spider is considered one of the largest on earth. He can catch a small bird in his nets.

In Japanese folklore, the were-spider Yorogumo, taking the form of a beautiful woman, plays a lute and lures its victim into its web. While the enchanted traveler listens to amazing music, Yorogumo entwines him and then eats him.

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That's all, the top is over, I'm off, I still need to decide what to do with the haymaker spider

Bye everyone and good luck)

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Rules for fighting samurai spiders (Argiope amoena):

The rules will be quite approximate, I cannot know all the specifics, the source of information will be indicated at the end of the article.

The spider fights themselves take place on a horizontal stick suspended in the air; two spiders can be said to be pushed together with their foreheads on a limited surface. Due to their natural instinct, spiders attack each other. The winner is the spider that was able to wrap its opponent in a cocoon or push it off a stick. As a rule, there are quite a few deadly fights among samurai spiders; the spiders' owners manage to prevent the bite.

The tournament usually involves about 500 spider fights, which are watched with special attention by both spider owners and numerous spectators and journalists.