Ladybug

Click to enlarge the picture. Believe it or not, this will shed its outer shell and become a shiny round ladybug. Click here to see more about ladybugs.

an early bug

I was sitting at the computer when all of a sudden this little bug buzzed up on the telephone. He landed on the "O". Was he trying to call out? No, you don't get the operator when you push "O" in Japan. The green message light below was flashing. Maybe he was attracted to that.

He looks like he just climbed out of one of our potted plants. He's carrying a pile of dirt on his back. How did he get in there? There are three plants on our windowsill that are usually outside. Maybe his mama bug laid an egg in one of them.

He looks like a June bug. He's too early! It's too cold to put him outside. What to do? Well, anyway it goes, I need to dust the telephone! Look at all that dust. Move over, early bug. Or should I start with you? Ever heard of brushing a bug?

In the Potted Bamboo

This red and black caterpillar was eating violets but then started climbing the potted bamboo when I started taking pictures. We think it will be a butterfly with a leopard pattern. We looked it up in Little Brother's big bug and insect book. There are several butterflies that have caterpillars like this that eat violets. The pictures were too small to see the detail so we're not sure what it will be.

This is obviously in the praying mantis family. It fluttered from one bamboo pole to another and watched me as I took pictures. We looked it up and it's called a kokamakiri.

We're leaving for Texas tomorrow. The morning glory bloomed! We'll miss most of the season, but hopefully the morning glories will still be blooming when we return August 25th. Aunt will water the garden while we're gone. Look through the summer posts from 2006 and 2007 by going to the archives.

Here are two summer bugs. Both were on the rudbeckia.

Moth on Fern

Baby Steps

It may look like the surface of the moon, but it's the side of our house. Look closely. This little guy paused long enough for me to take his picture. Can you see him? He so, so tiny. He's a baby praying mantis. I took this picture with a special lens for close-ups.

I checked on the casings in the morning and noticed some activity. I missed the full exodus, but got this little guy's baby steps on camera. There's another casing on the roof garden. I hope we have lots of praying mantis!

A Welcome Sign of Spring

It is cold and rainy today in Tokyo, Japan. It is also a school holiday. Students here get a day off for the spring equinox, the first day of spring!

We didn't have to go far to see a sign of spring. Can you see what we found on the wall of the house? It was just outside the door on our balcony.

It is an egg case. Hundreds if not thousands of praying mantis will come out this spring. They are more than welcome in our garden!

Praying Mantis' Lips...Or Jaws?

Click to enlarge. I don't think I've ever seen a praying mantis' mouth.

A praying mantis sits on a Syrian Rose.

The Real Thing

This is one of the many kinds of dragonflies here. Click on the label below to see other pictures.

This is a cicada. It was sitting on a piece of plastic that I was drying on the balcony. I took many pictures of the cicada. I moved the plastic around to different angles. The cicada never moved. I was carrying it into the house to take more pictures of it under better light and all of sudden it spun around and flew away. I thought it was dead!

Let Us Enjoy the Morning Glories!

The morning glories are finally blooming and doing well.

At first glance.

But looking more closely, you can see that something is eating some of them!

Here's the pest! It's a male. He's called shouryou (long "o") battamodoki. Batta is grasshopper in Japanese. His name is gonista bicolor in Latin.

Morning glories close in the afternoon, but we'd like to enjoy them as long as possible. I left him alone, though. Click to enlarge the pictures.

Moth at Nojiri Lake

Summer Insects

Huge Spider

This spider was bigger than an American quarter! At least 3 cm in diameter. Glad it was on the other side of the fence!

07-13-07 Today the spider was gone! Only two threads were dangling in the breeze. I wonder what happened. He was a sitting duck for any bird that flew by.

Banana Bug

This bug looks like it's smiling.

Don't you think so?

I'll have to look up this bug's real name. Big Sister said its nickname is banana bug.

Bugs and Water

The rains came. Rather, drizzle came. This is supposed to be the rainy season! These are hydrangea leaves covered in spider webs and raindrops.

Click to enlarge and you may be able to see the spider. It hid so this is the only picture I could get.

This little ladybug didn't seem bothered by the camera or the rain.

This doodle bug or roly-poly wasn't bothered either. Doodle bugs over here are quite audacious! They are slow to roll up. Papa calls them "toilet bugs". They do clean up after the dogs. I never noticed that before. I used to play with them when I was a kid in the United States. We leave these alone.

Natural Pesticide

This lily plant is outside Baba's window. This year there are many buds. Hopefully, there will be many flowers. There were many little white aphids that threatened to eat the buds.

Then yesterday, I discovered this little insect had cleaned them up. The buds are now safe--for a while. Can you tell what kind of insect it is?

It's a baby praying mantis. It will get big and green as the summer goes on. It will shed its skin. There's already a lot for it to eat. I'm glad we have this natural pesticide! It is the third generation of praying mantis that I know of. (I've only been in charge of the garden for three years since Jiji passed away.) Click on the label below or do a blog search to see posts about praying mantis and other bugs and insects.