Surprise visitor...

During the summer and autumn I expect to encounter a few of Japan's biting / stinging / annoying creatures in the woods, especially when biking or hiking. The most insidious so far for me has been the buyou, or black fly, whose itchy aftermath is comparable to poison ivy. As bad might be the mukade, or red-headed centipede, followed by mosquitoes and spiders which are mild in comparison. Most fatalities from wildlife in Japan, however, is from the sting of the susumebachi, or sparrow hornet. (There is a larger, even more frightening, version, the daisusumebachi, but it is kind of rare.)

None of these particularly worries me in the woods, but an encounter in the home might be different. Yesterday I was cleaning up and heard a very obvious 'scratching on paper' noise in the bedroom... not many bedroom visitors van make much noise, so I guessed it was a roach (nasty but harmless). I let my ear guide me to the window, and then looked up to see a huge, and angry, suzemebachi just over my head. I've never been stung by more than a yellow jacket, but people don't need an allergy to die from this sting, so I backed up quick. Without time to switch lenses, I caught this snap and then left post haste:

This one was big, as long as my little finger, but he let himself out after opening a few windows for him. Whew!

I didn't have a camera ready earlier this summer, when I found the bigger cousin (daisuzumebachi) in the woods... it was as big as a cigar, and sounded like a helicopter. It was the first one of those I'd seen, but it wasn't so frightening, as it was outside.

More soon!