Today, on February 7th, our precious bug has passed away. The night before last, she had flipped over on her back. In the morning, Mayu found her on her back and helped her over. She had probably struggled for a long time and it exhausted her.
This morning, Mayu fished her out of the box’s substrate and helped her to her food. She saw her tongue weakly lick the banana for one last time. I took this picture this morning, and you can see that her legs are curled up underneath her. I’m happy we had provided Pun-chan a long life, and Mayu took good care of her.
In Japan, cups of jelly are sold for kabuto-mushi (Rhinoceros beetles like Pun-chan) and kuwagata (stag beetles) and they come in different flavors. Once she tasted the brown sugar flavor, Pun-chan refused to eat the other flavors (fruit varieties). In fact if she was given another flavor, she would get upset and flip the jelly cup over overnight. She loved bananas too, and often her little face was covered with a banana mess. Mayu would place a slice of banana into the brown sugar jelly cup. I’m glad that she got to taste her precious banana one last time before she died.
Life became difficult for Pun-chan towards the end. Actually, a few months ago, her two front “hands” had somehow broken off. It’s just the way these beetles are, and it’s why you have to be careful to not try to forcefully pluck them from a tree as their feet may break off. We had provided her wonderful food for her and kept her warm, which gave her an unusually long life. I’m sad she is finally gone, but I’m happy that she is no longer struggling as it’s been like watching a grandmother struggle with life.
We are not allowed pets in our apartment, so Pun-chan has provided us with that role that cannot be taken by a cat or something. There’s an innate part of our hearts that desire to take care of plants and living creatures. I think that is a great part of what it means to be made in the image of God. When I was new to Japan, these large insects freaked me out. But I married a country girl, and Mayu grew up catching cicadas and other insects. She’s taught me to love and care for such insects in our nearly 21 years of marriage.