Insect Lore is a company that primarily makes products for the observation and study of living insects (nets, rearing containers, magnifying glasses, ant farms, etc.). In the 2000s, they made life cycle sets of select insects. These were really nice sets that featured original sculpts, including a couple rarely-made species (mealworm beetle, American painted lady). A couple years ago they released a couple ‘tube’ sets that were cheap knockoffs of Toy Major and K&M International figures, a real disappointment after their life cycle sets. If I remember correctly, the last new life cycle set was the honey bee, made in 2013. Today I am featuring their Life Cycle of the Preying Mantis. I picked this one because I have recently been rearranging how my collection is displayed, so I captured some pics before putting this in the drawers.
First up is a freshly-laid egg mass (ootheca). This foamy appearance disappears as it hardens.
Next up, is a hardened, mature ootheca. There are two interesting things on display here. On the left side of the ootheca you can see a newly hatched mantis. But, on the right side there is a segmented green object. This is a predaceous or parasitic larva! At one point I knew what it was but for the life of me I cannot remember. Probably a predaceous moth or fly larva. If I can hunt down what it is, I will update the post accordingly. Whether it was intentional or just something the artist incidentally incorporated from whatever influenced the sculpt, who knows (honestly, I favor the latter).
Next is a leaf with two young, probably recently-hatched nymphs. Nymphs emerge en masse from the oothecae, but they quickly devour each other, so only one to a few remain!
Lastly, the adult. I must admit, this is not a very realistic or accurate adult, but it serves its purpose for a life cycle. At the very least, it is a unique sculpt and not a copy of a generic dollar store or bin set figure.
Overall, this life cycle set offers a great educational opportunity for children and adult nature enthusiasts alike. Mantids are very popular and familiar insects, so this set would be great for educators and parents! Insect Lore life cycles are not hard to find on eBay.
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