Kabutomusi & kaseki hori What are they?

My fiance's son is interested in 'white helmet insect'(kabutomusi) and kaseki hori. I gather the first is a kid's tour of insect types and the second is some kind of archeological science field trip. Can anyone fill me in on these? Thanks.

Google kabutomushi (include an h in the spelling), and you will find lots if links with pictures, including an English Wikipedia page. The English name is Japanese rhinoceros beetle, apparently.

Kaseki hori would be "digging for fossils", so a kind of archaeological field trip, yes.

I think this is the season for those beetle things. They are selling beetle kits at many of the stores.

Interesting! Outdoor type of kid, huh? Nowadays boys just play video games, but someone who'd do kaseki hori as a child must be really into the soil and sun. On the other hand, kabutomushi is a type of insect that every Japanese boy goes through. They're simply "cool" and fun to catch (or nowadays shop) and raise. You don't actually need to go on a "tour" to do this.

They used to be available for free in trees. Now you can only find them in stores.

The firefly is also popular in the summer. They can be found in the country sides of Japan.

You can go see fireflies even in the cities, at large parks where there is lots of nature and clean water.

But back to the topic, when it comes to boys' leisure, I'm not sure if you can do much about them. You aren't really allowed to touch them moreover to capture them. You go to a scene one evening a year, you watch them, and that's it.

My son really enjoyed watching them as a boy, though. He seemed to have liked it so much that one night when he spotted something on our apartment balcony he said, "Mom! It's a firefly!" Too bad it turned out to be a cockroach when we gave a second good look at it!

When is the firefly season in the Kansai area?

Thanks

They come out in the summer. I remember going out one early evening and seeing them. It's quite a spectacle.