Although the heat makes it feel like summer is still lingering, there have been some changes at the "Animal Plaza" in Inokashira Park Zoo.

Just two weeks ago, dozens of Japanese Rhinoceros Beetle were clinging to the banana traps set up in the plaza, but since August 22, 2012, not a single one has been seen. Instead, many larvae born this year can be found in the piles of fallen leaves.

The creatures you can see in the plaza change one after another like this. If you come to visit multiple times, you'll be able to notice these changes.

Now, let's talk about the creatures we saw during our "Evening Exploration of Local Creatures" event, which took place a little while ago.

"Exploring Local Creatures" is a program where children search for and catch wild creatures within the park. The children have an amazing eye for insects, finding over 100 different species each time, but this time, as a summer vacation special, we've added nighttime light trapping to the program. Light trapping is a method of attracting insects with light.

While it was still light, we hung white cloth (shade cloth) in three places around the plaza and turned on black lights that emit ultraviolet light that insects are attracted to. Then, around 6:30 pm, we went out into the plaza as it was getting dark. There was little lighting in the park, and it became so dark that it was hard to believe we were so close to the town of Kichijoji. Just the darkness got both the children and us excited. So, what kind of creatures did we find gathered there?

Even from a distance, I could see tiny black insects clinging to the dimly lit cloth. There were grasshoppers, cicadas, and then more beetles, beetles, beetles... so many beetles! There were 11 different species, including the striped beetle, black beetle, velvet beetle, powder-covered beetle, and green June beetle. These are all species that you rarely see during the daytime.

In addition, we were able to observe nocturnal creatures that are different from those we see during the day, such as Japanese Rhinoceros Beetle and moths gathering around banana traps, and cicadas emerging from their pupae.

The next "Exploring Local Creatures" will be on September 23, 2012. Let's all observe autumn creatures together! We are currently accepting applications.

- "Recruiting participants for 'Exploring Familiar Creatures' on September 23rd" (August 23, 2012)

Photo: Observing insects gathered in a light trap

[Inokashira Park Zoo Zoo]

(August 31, 2012)