Since starting the Nomu Lab, I think this is the first time I've gone on a long cycling trip with a customer.
While riding along a mountain road in Kameoka City,
there was a beetle teacher unsteadily crossing the paved road.
Since it wasn't in some desolate area with no traffic,
I thought it would be sad if it got run over,
so I picked it up and moved it to a tree in a nearby forest.
I can't remember the last time I saw or touched a beetle.
I gently placed it on top of my bar tape,
but I couldn't peel it off with my own strength.
That's because it was gripping the bar tape surface with its two hind legs
with such incredible force that
I thought forcing it off would risk injuring its legs or claws.
So I suppose this counts as losing a strength match to a beetle.
Instead of peeling it off, when I offered my hand, it slowly climbed all the way up my arm.
What is this thing, it's adorable.
The unmistakable weight that you wouldn't expect from an insect,
combined with the dignity it gives off—I kind of understand now why
beetles, depending on the species and size,
are treated as "black jewels."
I obviously can't keep one, so I released it into the roadside forest.
One of my cycling friends
once kept a Hercules beetle,
and apparently your arm ends up covered in scratches when you let it climb on you.
When I showed him the picture above, he said that among male Japanese beetles
this one was actually quite small...
That friend still raises stag beetles from larvae and everything,
but I'm not knowledgeable about that kind of thing.
The one thing I'm certain about is that "you shouldn't send insect spray as a summer gift."
This was on a different day.
A Japanese striped snake teacher (probably) was sunbathing on a mountain pass road in Nara Prefecture.
If a car had driven by, it would have been right in the tire track,
so I would have liked to move it to the grass,
but I couldn't touch it.
Hang in there.
While riding along a mountain road in Kameoka City,
there was a beetle teacher unsteadily crossing the paved road.
Since it wasn't in some desolate area with no traffic,
I thought it would be sad if it got run over,
so I picked it up and moved it to a tree in a nearby forest.
I can't remember the last time I saw or touched a beetle.
I gently placed it on top of my bar tape,
but I couldn't peel it off with my own strength.
That's because it was gripping the bar tape surface with its two hind legs
with such incredible force that
I thought forcing it off would risk injuring its legs or claws.
So I suppose this counts as losing a strength match to a beetle.
Instead of peeling it off, when I offered my hand, it slowly climbed all the way up my arm.
What is this thing, it's adorable.
The unmistakable weight that you wouldn't expect from an insect,
combined with the dignity it gives off—I kind of understand now why
beetles, depending on the species and size,
are treated as "black jewels."
I obviously can't keep one, so I released it into the roadside forest.
One of my cycling friends
once kept a Hercules beetle,
and apparently your arm ends up covered in scratches when you let it climb on you.
When I showed him the picture above, he said that among male Japanese beetles
this one was actually quite small...
That friend still raises stag beetles from larvae and everything,
but I'm not knowledgeable about that kind of thing.
The one thing I'm certain about is that "you shouldn't send insect spray as a summer gift."
This was on a different day.
A Japanese striped snake teacher (probably) was sunbathing on a mountain pass road in Nara Prefecture.
If a car had driven by, it would have been right in the tire track,
so I would have liked to move it to the grass,
but I couldn't touch it.
Hang in there.