Meloimorpha japonica
Appearance
Bell cricket | |
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Species: | M. japonica
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Binomial name | |
Meloimorpha japonica (De Haan, 1842)
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Meloimorpha japonicus, also known as Suzumushi (鈴虫, bell cricket) and bell-ring cricket. is a species of cricket native to Asia. It is known particularly for its chiming song in Japan, where they are often kept as pets.
In Japanese literature
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/4/4a/Commons-logo.svg/30px-Commons-logo.svg.png)
M. japonicus is an autumn kigo used in haiku. 'Suzumushi' is also 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.
Suzumushi are kept as pets by Chieko Sada, the main character of Kawabata's novel The Old Capital and are mentioned several times.[citation needed]