 Photo: Youhei Morita, KEK |
Komomaki
Every winter, pine trees on the KEK campus in Tsukuba, Japan, get a treat. Komomaki (woven-straw blankets) are wrapped around the pines a few feet above the ground. During cold weather, Matsukemushi, the larvae of the pine moth Dendrolimus spectabilis, creep into the Komomaki. Snug in their blankets, the Matsukemushi leave the pines unharmed. At the end of winter, the Komomaki, now infested with bugs, are taken out of the trees and burned. In Japan, burning Komomaki are a symbol of new spring.
Youhei Morita, KEK
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