* Japanese name: Okamakiri mushi
* Scientific name: Tendora sinensis
* Description: This is a big, alien-looking insect, either green or brown, with large eyes and powerful legs. It gets its English name from the way it stands for hours on end, front legs folded as if in prayer. But the Japanese name describes the insect more aptly: “Kamakiri” is the cutting action a scythe makes. Okamakiri is the largest and the most common of nine species in Japan, growing from 70-90 mm long. They are winged and can fly short distances. An old, quite primitive group of insects, they are related to cockroaches and stick insects.

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