In this study, we examined cockroaches collected from the following locations in the Kagoshima Prefecture, Japan, in the winter of 2007: a mountain forest floor on the south side of Hiyoshi-cho, Hioki City; a spring water pool by the side of a road in Kiirihitokura-cho, Kagoshima City; a mountain forest floor on the south side of Kiirimaenohama-cho, Kagoshima City; and under concrete materials left in a vacant lot by the side of a road in Komaki, Ibusuki City. From the 4 areas, 3 adults and 33 nymph of 5 species of cockroach were collected: 3 mid-stadium nymph of Symploce striata striata from Hiyoshi-cho, Hioki City; 3 adults and 9 nymph of Opisthoplatia orientalis from Kiirihitokura-cho, Kagoshima City; 4 mid-stadium nymph of Symploce striata striata and 6 mid-stadium nymph of Margattea satsumana from Kiirimaenohama-cho, Kagoshima City; and 5 mid-stadium nymph of Blattella lituricollis and 6 mid-stadium nymph of Sigmella schenklingi from Komaki, Ibusuki City. M. satsumana and Symploce striata striata were collected from under fallen leaves on a semi-shaded scrub forest floor, while B. lituricollis and Sigmella schenklingi were collected from under building materials and rocks located in a sunlit empty lot in a residential area. O. orientalis was collected from a sunlit pool fed by spring water and from the bottom surfaces of dead branches that were lying near the pool. The Sigmella schenklingi collected in this study constitute the world's third new distribution, following those in Taiwan and Fujian Province, China.

From May 2010 to January 2013, a survey was conducted on ixodid ticks (Ixodidae) and fleas (Siphonaptera) infesting dogs and cats living in Toyama Prefecture, Honshu, Japan. A total of 123 dogs and 77 cats were found to be infested. Haemaphysalis flava, H. longicornis, Ixodes nipponensis, I. ovatus, Rhipicephalus sanguineus, Chaetopsylla mikado, and Ctenocephalides felis were collected from dogs. Ixodes nipponensis, I. ovatus, Ch. mikado, and Ct. felis were collected from cats. The main species were H. longicornis, Ct. felis, and I. ovatus in dogs, and Ct. felis in cats. Rhipicephalus sanguineus and Ch. mikado were newly recorded in Toyama Prefecture. Spotted fever group rickettsial genes were detected from H. flava, H. sp., I. nipponensis, and I. ovatus. The pathogenic of these rickettsiae was not clear.

Oedemerid beetles were collected with non-attractive traps, Malaise traps, and window traps in two plantations of Cryptomeria japonica (approximately 40 years old) and two old-growth evergreen broadleaf forests situated near the two plantations in Yakushima Island, the Ryukyus, Japan, from July 2006 to March 2008. A total of 61 individuals of five species were collected with Malaise traps. Nacerdes (Xanthochroa) katoi was the most dominant (53.6%), followed by Oedemera (Oedemera) sexualis sexualis (29.0%). Three other species were captured in small numbers: N. (X.) osawai, Indasclera subrugosa subrugosa, and Dryopomera (Dryopomera) yatoi yatoi. Nacerdes katoi was collected from late March to early July. There were more trapped individuals of N. katoi in the C. japonica plantations than in the old-growth evergreen broadleaf forests. The sex ratio of N. katoi collected with Malaise traps was female-based. Only eight individuals of N. katoi were collected with window traps. The sex ratio of individuals collected with window traps was male-based.

We investigated the diet of the Norway rat, Rattus norvegicus, in piles of rubbish in the tsunami disaster region of eastern Japan over two years after the event. We found gastropods, earthworms, and plant matter in the stomach contents of rats, which were caught on banks along a stream in a pile of rubbish in Miyagi Prefecture. We conclude that moist areas including streams in such piles supply the rats with habitats.