Bugs are no longer just for the boys anymore — studying insects has become a hobby for women, too.

"It's so much fun, quietly moving up close to insects and taking closeup photos of their tiny faces," said Tamaki Morita, a 30-year-old office worker from Osaka.

Women like Morita have recently been tabbed by the media as "mushi (insect) girls" — the latest group to be labeled after "yama (mountain) girls," who enjoy climbing mountains in fashionable outdoor clothes, and the shutterbugs known as "sha (photography) girls."