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Bundle 39: Bugging Out

As these essays show, people's relationships to insects run the gamut. Mosquitoes annoy, bite, or even kill us, so we repel them. The beloved firefly has inspired poems, songs, paintings, tourism, and firefly parks. Bugs play key roles in "The Tale of Genji," famous manga, one film, and photographs. Insects also serve as food; the Japanese eat locusts and bee larvae, as well as honey (which can become wine and medicine). But bee stings hurt badly, so there's that! Finally, insects have given rise to fun Japanese figurative language about ephemerality, hard work, and much more, as many quizzes reveal!
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蚊
mosquito
JOK: 1056
See what "mosquito pillar" and "shaking mosquito" represent. Discover how to use 蚊 in figurative terms. Learn about the "London Underground mosquito" and the striped "Asian tiger mosquito." And find out how to say, "The creature that kills the most humans is the mosquito," "The mosquito transmits many pathogens," and "Your punches don't affect me even as much as a mosquito (bite)."
蛍
firefly
JOK: 1200
Find out about the firefly and its role in Japanese culture. You'll learn about parks dedicated to firefly viewing, "firefly fronts," haiku in which fireflies symbolize ephemerality, a famous song involving firefly light, connections to "The Tale of Genji," a famous anime involving fireflies, a legendary sword, "firefly tribes," short-lived flowers, and much more about this beloved insect.
昆
descendants
JOK: 1276
See why the Japanese would choose 昆虫 (insect) over 虫 (insect). Learn to talk about collecting insects. Find out which manga artist loved doing so, incorporating insects into his work and his name! Discover terms that differentiate winged and wingless insects, even if ancestors of the wingless ones once had wings. Also learn how American kombucha is nothing like the Japanese kind.
蜂
bee
JOK: 2109
Find out why some Japanese eat bee larvae and "royal jelly," what traditional Japanese beekeeping involves, how Japanese and Western honeybees differ, and where bees thrive in Japan. Learn to count bees and to say that they're buzzing or that a swarm has attacked! Read about "buzzing" in the ears and bee uprisings, and see why a figurative queen bee seems sexy and marketable in Japan.
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