Evening Republican, Volume 59, Number 76, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 31 March 1917 — HUNTING FIREFLIES IN JAPAN [ARTICLE]

HUNTING FIREFLIES IN JAPAN

Remunerative and Pleasant Occupation That Engages the Attention of t , the Mikado’s Subjects. In Japan there is followed the pretty custom of employing |n garden parties and* in varlqus other social'’ functions the native fireflies for purposes of decoHlnmlnntinn Tn SO TO fl CUSeS these tiny creatures are disposed about In cages; sometimes they are released in swarms in the presence of guests. To meet the demand for fireflies thus used, it follows that there must be some systematic method of effecting their capture in sufficient quantities. There are a number of concerns 111 the Japanese cities that employ men to catch the fireflies. These hunters proceed about their task in this way: The start is made at sunset, and the hynter takes with him a long bamboo pole and a bag of mosquito netting. When a suitable growth pf willows near water is reached the hunter makes ready his net and strikes the branches, filled with the insects, with his pole. This jars them to the ground, where they cah easily be gathered, if one proceeds about the job quickly, before they have had time to recover and fly away. This work proceeds until about two o’clock in the morning, at which hour the insects are beginning to leave the trees for the dewy soil. Then the hunter changes his tactics. He brushes the surface of the ground with a light broom to startle the Insects into flight, when they are taken as before. It is said that an expert may capture as many as 3,000 in a single night.