The number of wild boars is rapidly increasing in Japan due to a decline in the population in forest areas while climate change now allows the animals to thrive in the north; lower numbers of licensed hunters have also allowed the population to increase. Wild boars carry and spread many zoonotic diseases. These diseases may be food-borne, vector-borne (by mosquitos or ticks, for example), or transmitted by the fecal-oral route. An outbreak of Japanese encephalitis, which originates in wild boars, occurred in Karachi, a pig-free area in 1979. In Toyama Prefecture, wild boars have shown high-titer antibodies, implicating the boars as a reservoir of Japanese encephalitis. Additionally, severe fever with thrombocytopenia syndrome (SFTS) circulates between ticks and wild boars, and that virus is transmitted to humans by tick bites. Rabies is transmitted to wild boars through bites from infected foxes and hounds, and infected and violent wild boars sometime transmit the virus to humans. Ascariasis has decreased in Japan, however, the recent interest in organic fertilizer may lead to an increase in cases. Undercooked wild boar meats are also believed to transmit many zoonotic parasites (trichinosis, onchocerciasis, gnathostomiasis, paragonimiasis and cryptosporidiosis.), viruses (hepatitis E, swine influenza and Nipah virus) and bacteria (Rickettsia japonica).

We investigated the larval development of the Indian meal moth, Plodia interpunctella (Hübner) on dried red pepper products. First-instar larvae (n = 2) were placed on 2.5 g of each type of dried pepper and were maintained at 28˚C, 70% relative humidity (RH) and 16L8D. We recorded their development period, emergence rate, and adult weight. Intact whole peppers, halved peppers, and round slices were offered as food materials. First-instar larvae could not develop on intact whole peppers. The mean developmental period ± SE was 65.0 ± 2.9 days on halved peppers and 35.0 ± 0.5 days on round slices. The adult emergence rate was 25% on halved peppers and 90% on round slices. These results suggest that larval feeding is affected by the shape and hardness of the larval food. We also investigated the larval development of this species on commercially prepared cayenne pepper (five different brands). The mean developmental period was 42.5, 42.9, 47.1, 48.3 and 81.0 days. The adult emergence rate was 61.5, 96.6, 83.3, 50.0, and 12.5%. Volatile compounds emitted by dried red peppers are known to have insecticidal effects. These results suggest that larval feeding is also affected by the density of volatile compounds in the products.

We were told of the presence of insects in and around of vine products in a cafeteria in Maizuru City, Kyoto Prefecture, in May 2019. Our investigation identified the insects as Gastrallus immarginatus, which is also known as old book pest. We reported this occurrence as a case of damage to vine products by this species.

We used a drone to survey openings through which roof rats (Rattus rattus) can enter houses. The drone took off smoothly, the drone camera did not vibrate, and we were able to look under eaves and roof tiles with the naked eye on a monitor screen. We did not detect roof rats using the openings at the time of observation. We found that a drone is useful for surveying openings through which roof rats can enter houses.

Cockroaches in urban environments in Minato-ku, Tokyo, were surveyed using sticky traps from August 2018 through October 2019. When traps with bait were installed under outdoor vending machines, the species most often captured was Periplaneta fuliginosa, followed by P. americana and Blattella germanica. Almost no species other than P. fuliginosa were captured by sticky traps without bait. The age composition of P. fuliginosa did not differ between sticky traps with and without bait.