The weather has become increasingly humid since last week. The variety of creatures that can be observed in the "Animal Plaza" at Inokashira Park Zoo has also increased significantly.

The plaza is open for a limited time every Sunday, but what kind of creatures we can show you is entirely up to nature. This means that we staff members have to check in advance what we might see. Before opening, we always take a walk around the plaza to check what happened to the swallowtail butterfly larvae that were on the yuzu tree, whether Eastern Japanese Common Toad that always sleeps under the "observation board" is still there, and whether any new creatures have arrived.

On June 17th, while I was making my rounds, I couldn't help but let out a cheer. A magnificent Japanese Rhinoceros Beetle beetle had been caught in the banana trap I had set up.

In the plaza where two years' worth of fallen leaves collected from the park were piled up, we could see Japanese Rhinoceros Beetle larvae everywhere. They were all wild specimens. Large, milky-white larvae were buried in abundance under the logs and under the fallen leaves, and they were a big hit with the children who visited the plaza in April and May.

It appears that some of the larvae have begun to pupate and emerge as adults. Unfortunately, although there are many small sawtooth oaks and Japanese oaks in the square, there are no trees that produce sap. Thinking that I wouldn't be able to show Japanese Rhinoceros Beetle have emerged if things continued as they were, I set up banana traps (bags filled with a mixture of bananas, shochu, and brown sugar) all over the square last week.

There were also some butterfly species like the Satyrinae and flower beetles clinging to it, but Japanese Rhinoceros Beetle 's sheer weight was the most impressive! As expected, it was a huge hit with the children and their fathers who came to the plaza.

Japanese Rhinoceros Beetle season is just beginning. Come to the plaza and try to find the banana traps (we can't guarantee you'll find any, as it's all up to nature).

Top photo: Japanese Rhinoceros Beetle came to a banana trap.
Photo: Japanese Rhinoceros Beetle larva
Photo below: A type of butterfly known as the Satyrinae butterfly.

[Inokashira Park Zoo Zoo]

(June 22, 2012)