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HEARING THE INSECTS - Japanese Insect PetsHere's a program from our archives.ambience, Teleogryllus emma (emma korogi)In Japan, people traditionally associate this time of year with the calls of singing insects. In the past, outings were planned to visits the parts of the country where insects could best be heard. These days, many Japanese are content to raise crickets and katydids as pets. I'm Jim Metzner, and this is the Pulse of the Planet. Pemberton: Many singing insects are kept as pets by Japanese. Some they catch themselves. Others are given as gifts. Japanese green grocers occasionally will buy Suzumushi, the Bell insect, and give it to their customers. People often buy Bell crickets in the pet shops of the big department stores. The insect zoo near Tokyo, Toma Zoo, receives about 2000 phone calls a year about how to raise that particular insect, so keeping them as pets is very popular. Research entomologist Robert Pemberton has written extensively on the role of insects in Asian cultures.Pemberton: I think a lot of different people enjoy keeping them. Not just children. They keep them for varying lengths of time. You can buy terrariums and specialized food, certain kinds of mixes of the soil to put into the terrariums and there's quite a literature on raising them, so it's possible at home to raise them continuously through the year, or to have them seasonally. The Japanese traditionally put great care into the design of the cages for singing insects. Pemberton: Singing insects in Japan are traditionally kept in beautiful cages. Most of them are made of bamboo, but there are many other kinds. Some of them were shaped like fans, some like boats, some like houses. Some are made to look like small rustic country houses. There's a kind of craft that's associated with it. We'll hear more about singing insects in future programs. We've been listening to a program from our archives. If you want to hear more, check out our podcast.