I now hike with a long stick in hand, bobbing it from side to side in front of me as I go.Ĥ. I once walked face-first into such a web on a lonely trail, leaving me with with a sticky mass across my cheeks and a very pressing question about where the spider had gone. The only problem is that their gossamer webs can be hard to spot if you're hiking. The most wonderful thing about both of these spiders is that they live almost exclusively outdoors I've never seen one inside. In folklore, joro-gumo were considered legendary creatures that could change into a beautiful woman to ensnare human prey. You'll find a massive joro-gumo web under pretty much every overhanging roof in the Japanese countryside. However, joro-gumo grow larger (their bulbous bodies can be up to about 3 centimeters/1.2 in), they weave more expansive webs, and they tend to dangle from spindly, more evenly distributed legs. Joro-gumo, or joro spiders, might seem quite similar at first glance. In fact, despite their size, you're most likely to spot one right as it dies, going through its slow final twitches on your doorstep or balcony. While some species can incubate for years, once they take their adult form, they're only believed to live for about a month. The largest semi species in Japan can grow up to 7 centimeters (2.8 in) in length-comparable to the Malaysian emperor cicada, the largest species in world. Aside from sitting there being unnervingly large, it didn't do anything at all. After a few swings, I noticed an insect the size of a hamster on the ground beside me. The first time I saw one, I'd climbed to the top of a wooded hill to practice with my bokuto (wooden sword) shortly after arriving in Japan. While you may hear them everywhere-even in Tokyo if there's so much as a single tree nearby-they're generally hard to spot unless you're specifically on the lookout for them. They even have a different kind of buzz depending on the species. ![]() The drone of the semi, or cicada, is the iconic sound of Japanese summer.
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