Otto's blog

Jewel Beetle

Aug

27

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On the weekend I went to Ibuki Mountain. I didn`t see many butterflies, which was a little disappointing, but I found this jewel beetle (jewel = ほうぎょく). There are many different kinds of jewel beetle in the world. This kind is called Chrysochroa fulgidissima or Tamamushi (玉虫) in Japanese. Have you ever seen one? This is the first one I`ve ever seen. It`s beautiful, isn`t it?

Oh, deer!

Aug

19

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On the weekend I went camping in the mountains in Sekigahara. I made a campfire, swam in the river & relaxed. It was nice. I slept well.

In the morning, I got up early, restarted my campfire & went for a walk. When I returned, I was surprised to see two deer crossing the river near my tent. I`m surprised that they weren`t scared of the smoke from my campfire. Maybe they are kind of used to (なれている) living near people.

It was a nice experience. I was lucky.

Unwelcome Visitor

Aug

14

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I keep my many めだか　(killi fish) in fish tanks (すいそう) outside. A cat used to come at night to try to eat them, so I made some wire covers.

Recently this frog has been visiting. It can get through the wire covers. I guess it wants to eat my fish too.

The first time, I caught it & released it, but it came back. Next time, I released it further away (もっととおい), but it came back. Finally I released it even further away. I hope it doesn`t come back.

Maybe I should make a mesh cover, but it`s a hassle (めんどくさい).

By the way (ときに) do you know how to cook frog?

Beetle Break-Out

Aug

14

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I caught a big stag beetle (かぶとむし) & I kept it for about 2 weeks. But it was smelly & a hassle (めんどくさい) to take care of (せわする) so finally I decided to take a photo & release it.

However, when I opened the box, it was gone! Oh no! It escaped!

In the living room!

My wife was angry!

My son was excited!

We looked for (さがした) it but couldn`t find (みつける) it. However, last night we saw it climbing up a curtain. We caught it & released it. Phew!


Sorry - I didn`t take a photo...

Mizushima Starfish

Jul

31

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I went snorkelling at Mizushima & saw some fish, but nothing special. However, I was interested to see these colourful starfish. The Japanese name for this kind of starfish is イトマキヒトデ (Thread Spool Starfish?), but I don`t know what they`re called in English.

Some animals change colour as they get older, or male (おす) & female (めす) are different colours. I wonder (かしら)if that is the case for these starfish. Or maybe it has to do with (= かんけがある) the nearby nuclear reactor (かくはんのうろ). Anyway, I think it`s interesting that there are so many colours of the one animal, all living in the same area.

Kasamatsu Horse Racing

Jul

23

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One of our Teragoya students is a horse trainer. He told me that his horse would race on the weekend at Kasamatsu Racecourse, so I decided to take my son to go & watch.

Kasamatsu Racecourse is right beside the Meitetsu train line, so I can see it clearly when I catch the train to work every Saturday. I always thought "I`ve never seen a live horse race. One day I should go there & watch one..." Finally I did it!

I`m not really into gambling, but I bet 200yen on my friend`s horse to win. And it did! It won! I was really happy.

...until I put my ticket in the machine & only got 240yen back. What!? Only 40yen extra?!?! For a win?!?! I was disappointed (がっかりした).

But my son & I had a good time. It was an interesting experience (けいけん).

Asian long-horned beetle

Jul

11

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I found another beetle. This one is an Asian long-horned beetle (Anoplophora glabripennis). The body is about 3cm long.

It`s native to Japan, Korea & China but it can`t be taken to countries like Australia or North America, because it damages trees, so they don`t want it. They try hard to keep it out. Bad beetle!

I kept this one in a container, but it soon died. However I don`t feel so bad. In fact (そのじつ), I`m proud that I could help to protect (かばいたて) Australia. What a great guy I am.

Challenge!

Jun

28

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I have a small lime tree in my garden. Every summer it gets attacked by caterpillars (あおむし). It`s really annoying! Nowadays, every morning I check the leaves for eggs & caterpillars, & remove them. It`s a hassle (= めんどくさい).

Anyway, can you guess the type of butterfly which is responsible?

* click on the photo to enlarge

UPDATE: The answer is number 3: The Common Yellow Swallowtial.

Stag Beetle

Jun

20

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I found this `Dorcus rectus` (コクワガタ) beetle on the floor at school. At first I thought it was a cockroach (ゴキブリ)- yuck! But then I realised [きづいた]it was a stag beetle - cool! So I caught it & now I`m keeping it in a container in my classroom. I gave it some cucumber (きゅうり) to eat. I hope it gets big. Now it`s about 3cm long.

Collecting beetles is not popular in Australia, but Japanese boys are really into it. How about you? Are you interested in collecting stag beetles? Now? Before?

Teragoya Zoo Trip

May

20

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On Sunday Teragoya took a trip to Higashiyama zoo in Nagoya. There were about 70 kids this year - a lot more than last year. Fortunately the 10 kids in my group were very well-behaved. Of course they enjoyed looking at all the animals, but I noticed they had different opinions about the different kinds, for example:

The hippopotamus is lazy.
The ostrich is funny.
The elephant is nice.
The flamingoes are beautiful.
The American bison are nothing special.

Oh - poor American Bison! I hope they didn`t hear. But I was interested to see them; I`d never seen a real one before.

Have you ever been to the zoo? Which animal did you like most?