I managed to find a few of these assassin bug nymphs. Just imagine coming face to face with a giant one of those!!

Hemiptera : Reduviidae (assassin bugs)
Sphedanolestes impressicollis
shma-sashi-game

Location: In the valley below Mt. Yukawa in Munakata (google map)

Hemiptera: Cicadellidae
Bothrogonia ferruginea
Black-tipped Leafhopper = tsumaguro-oo-yokobai

Location: Shousuke-mura near Global Arena in Munakata (google map)

This cabbage bug was in the garden. Its name in Japanese is Na-game, where the “na” stands for “na-no-hana” (oilseed rape) and the “game” comes from “kame-mushi“, which means stink bugs.

Hemiptera: Pentatomidae
Eurydema rugosa
Cabbage Bug = nagame

Location: Munakata Common

A very strange little bug. It looks like a mini cicada.

Hemiptera: Derbidae
Pamendanga matsumurae
= madara-hanenaga-unka

Location: Back road towards Yamada Village in Munakata (google map)

Hemiptera: Pentatomoidea
Megymenum gracilicorne
Shield Bug = nokogiri-kamemushi

Location: In sweet chestnut grove next to Munakata Common (Google map)

Hemiptera: Ricaniidae
Orosanga japonicus
Planthopper = bekkou-hagoromo

Location: In sweet chestnut grove next to Munakata Common (Google map)

Wow, these things are small (about 2.5mm) and difficult to spot. The flat shape makes them look like small patches of discolored leaf. After seeing one of the “patches” move, I thought I’d take a photo – using my camera like a kind of microscope to see the details. Then I discovered that I was actually looking at tiny and delicately structured lace bugs.

Corythucha marmorata
= awadachisou-gunbai
= chrysanthenum lace bug

Location: Munakata Common (Google map).

The Japanese name for this bug is “ushi-kamemushi,” which can be translated as “cow bug” or “ox bug.” I guess the name comes from the horn-like projections on its thorax – giving it the appearance of an ox. I thinks it’s a really apt name.

Hemiptera:
Alcimocoris japonensis
= ushi-kamemushi (= Ox bug?)

Location: forest area near Ikeda Village in Munakata (aerial photo)
Map: Google map link

What a weird little bug! It’s a kind of leafhopper (or froghopper).

Hemiptera: Cicadellidae (leafhoppers)
Petalocephala discolor
= ko-mimizuku

Location: In orchards and bamboo/pine forest above Yokoyama Village (Google map)

Hemiptera: Machaerotidae (Tube Spittlebugs)
Hindoloides bipunctatus
Spittlebug = muneaka-awafuki

Location: Fureiai Forest Park (Google map)