1000-Knock Drill to Overcome Insect Phobia #224: Female Asian Longhorned Beetle

As usual, I stopped by the supermarket near the station on my way home from work, bought some half-price sashimi, and headed home with a satisfied grin. Even better, yesterday I managed to get two packs at a third of the price, so I was extra happy. I felt like a total weirdo, unable to stop smiling even though I thought I might have bought a bit too much.

Then, as I was walking up the stairs from the basement, I saw something.

A cockroach...? No, it's too big for that.

As I got closer, I realized it was an Asian longhorned beetle.

It was the longhorned beetle I saw most often when I was a child. However, for some reason, I haven't seen many since I got married and moved to this area. I did see one in front of the entrance at the apartment where I lived for seven years before buying my current house, though.

When I was a kid, I wanted to see a citrus longhorned beetle so badly. I only managed to see one laying eggs once, and that was it. What I always ended up seeing instead was the similar-looking Asian longhorned beetle.

It was definitely in my top 10 list of insects that would make me feel disappointed when I saw them.

Now that it's rare, though, I get excited.

First, I took a shot with a 25mm lens (50mm equivalent in 35mm format), and then I switched to a macro lens.

Usually, I keep a 60mm macro in my bag, but for some reason, I had a 90mm macro with me that day.

Wow, it's beautiful. I never even noticed when I was a kid that its legs were this shade of light blue.

Beautiful, so beautiful... I kept saying it over and over as I took shot after shot.

I really wanted to get as close a shot as possible.

From another angle, too.

Flash photography.

I didn't realize why the lens shadow appeared on the right side when I was shooting, but it was because the E-P7's flash is located on the left side of the body. Shadows form opposite the light.

Reluctantly, one last shot.

...Or so I thought.

On my way home, the desire to take a shot with my 300mm lens started to well up inside me.

I had the 60mm macro attached to my OM-1 (I had used it in the morning), so I left it as is and brought out the 300mm lens as well.

I rushed back to the site.

From here on, I'll keep the distance fixed at 1.4m, the closest focus for the 300mm lens.

The way its legs are spread is different, which shows it's moving slightly.

Flash photography.

Switching to the 60mm macro lens from here.

It's so much easier to shoot.

Flash photography.

The shadow of the antennae shows up clearly, so in the image I see right after taking the shot, it looks like it has extra antennae, which makes me panic.

I kept shooting, thinking that this beauty must have just emerged.

I want to see the underside, too.

The good thing about the 60mm macro is that it's very easy to shoot one-handed (that's why I stopped using the OM-3, because it was hard to do that).

Huh? Is it actually old?

I was a bit disillusioned, so I put it down.

And then,

It started grooming its antennae. I didn't remember touching them, but looking back at the photo from when I grabbed it with my left hand, it's true.

It hadn't just emerged, but I was still curious, so I grabbed it again.

It has no energy at all. And given the dirt on its mandibles, I suspect this is a female that has already laid eggs.

Let me see your genitalia.

Far from being a virgin, could it be a mother?

I'm not an obstetrician, so I don't really know, but for now, I'll just take a photo as evidence.

I thought it didn't have much energy, but it has finally started making that characteristic squeaky sound unique to longhorned beetles.

Flailing about.

You can tell the difference between male and female Asian longhorned beetles by the length of their antennae.

The antennae themselves are much longer than those of many other insects, but compared to other Asian longhorned beetles, these are on the shorter side. Therefore, it is indeed a female.

Given its lack of energy, it's safe to assume it has already laid its eggs and is just waiting for death.
It didn't even show any signs of wanting to fly.

If I don't forget, I'll try passing by the same spot again before I head to work today. It might be a corpse by then.

Below is the photography equipment used.

E-P7 + M.ZUIKO DIGITAL 17mm F1.8
E-P7 + M.ZUIKO DIGITAL ED 90mm F3.5 Macro IS PRO
OM-1 + M.ZUIKO DIGITAL ED 300mm F4.0 IS PRO
OM-1 + M.ZUIKO DIGITAL ED 60mm F2.8 Macro

You can find the list of insects for the 1000-Knock Challenge to Overcome Insect Phobia below.

[Children's Insect Specialty School] - 1000-Knock Challenge to Overcome Insect Phobia