So first lets start off with the spiders. The spiders are in a whole different class than the ones in Canada. I regularly see spiders bigger than my hand fully stretched out, and they are FAST as hell. Here are some pictures that will scar you forever:
They're not poisonous, but if you're like me you don't really give a shit about that because they're scary as hell regardless whether they are dangerous or not. Good thing is you will only find these in the Summer, I haven't seen them around in the Winter at all.
The next bug that I am terrified of here are the giant hornets. These are called suzumebachi in Japanese, suzume = sparrow (because they are pretty much as big as a bird) and bachi = bee.
Apparently you can die if you are stung by one of these. During my first homestay in Japan I got stung by a big bee, but I didn't see closely what it was. My homestay mother started panicking and grabbed my leg and tried to suck the venom out with her mouth. It was an... interesting... experience. Anyways, so these guys are dangerous so try to avoid them at all times. I don't see them around too often, but they seem to hang around in parks.
The other bugs here don't really bother me. Cockroaches are really common here, I know some people are bothered by those, but I can live with them. The mosquitoes are annoying as hell, I find myself waking up almost every night to kill one. But that's really about it for bugs that suck.
Now for the cool bugs!! This is a kabuto mushi (rhinoceros beetle):
They are a common pet for children here, and can be found in the forest. If you don't want to go hunting for one, you can also buy them at the pet store :) They don't bite and they eat jello! I used to own a few, but I let them go.
The butterflies here are gorgeous!
These black ones I see around a lot, and also swallowtails. I was a bit of a butterfly geek growing up so this makes me happy :3
If you have any other questions about Japanese bugs, let me know!
