''Meloimorpha japonica'',
[Haan W de (1844) in Temminck d.''Verhandelingen over de Natuurlijke Geschiedenis der Nederlansche Overzeesche Bezittingen'' 24: 236.] also known as , the bell cricket, and the bell-ring cricket, is a species of
cricket
Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by striki ...
widespread in
Asia (from India, through
Indochina to Japan). It is known particularly for its chiming song in
Japan
Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...
, where they are often
kept as pets.
Description
''M. japonica'' range from approximately 17 to 25 mm in length and have wide wings which are shaped like
melon seeds.
In Japan, they are found in
Hokkaido (though not natively),
Honshu,
Shikoku, and
Kyushu
is the third-largest island of Japan's five main islands and the most southerly of the four largest islands ( i.e. excluding Okinawa). In the past, it has been known as , and . The historical regional name referred to Kyushu and its surroun ...
.
[福井の生き物情報 スズムシ](_blank)
福井県、2017年2月6日閲覧。
Subspecies
The ''Orthoptera Species File'' lists two subspecies:
* ''M. japonica japonica'' (Haan, 1844)
* ''M. japonica yunnanensis'' (Yin, 1998) - from southern China and Vietnam.
In Japanese literature
''M. japonica'' is an autumn
kigo used in
haiku.
''Suzumushi'' is the title of chapter 38 of ''
The Tale of Genji'', authored by
Murasaki Shikibu. For unknown reasons, it is the only chapter skipped in
Arthur Waley's translation of the book.
In the 1962 novel ''
The Old Capital'' by
Yasunari Kawabata, they are kept as pets by the main character, Chieko Sada, and are mentioned several times.
References
External links
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{{Authority control
Crickets
Taxa named by Wilhem de Haan
Orthoptera of Asia