Butterflies of the World Collectors Case (Safari Ltd.)

This is a review of the complete Butterflies of the World set as part of Safari LTD’s Collectors Case series. The undersides of the figures are not detailed, so an overall review of the set seemed more valuable then doing reviews for individual figures. This is one of three butterfly sets by Safari. They did an Authentics collection, made up of hard plastic, thick figures, and a TOOB featuring 8 species. This Collectors Case series presented here consists of 12 species and came out in 2001. The figures in the set are somewhat soft; many of the sculpts, and a couple times paint jobs, were also used by K&M International for the Wild Republic Butterflies Nature Tube and Insect Lore for their Big Bunch-O Butterflies tube. The figures are not numbered so I will present them as they appeared in the case. They were all marketed under the English, German, French, Spanish, and Italian versions of the common names. Scientific names were not used, except where there is no English name (in which they anglicize the Latin name). All figures are roughly 50-55 mm across their wingspans.

I don’t have a group photo so here is an old Safari Ltd. stock image of the box; a quick search at the time of this writing shows a couple available in eBay!

On to the species:

Purple Emperor, Apatura iris.
This Palearctic species occurs throughout much of Europe, east to China. Its larvae feed primarily on poplar (Populus) and willows (Salix). The species has been made a couple times before, most notably by Toy Major and Club Earth.

Green Swallowtail, Papilio blumei
This species is no stranger to Safari Ltd., having also been made for their Authentics Butterfly Collection, Hidden Kingdom Insects collection, and Butterflies TOOB. The problem with the figure presented today is that the colors seem reversed; there should be green maculae on predominately black wings, not the other way around! The species is endemic to the Indonesian island Sulawesi.

Scarlet Leafwing, Siderone galanthis
This figure was marketed under its synonym, S. nemesis. This Neotropical species is distributed from Mexico to Amazonian Brazil. Larvae are known to feed on on Casearia sylvestris and Zuelania quidonia. The only other figure of this species I am aware of is also by Safari Ltd. for their Authentics collection.

Great Orangetip, Hebomoia glaucippe
This pierid shows up periodically in toy form. I also have figures by Club Earth, Ikimon, K&M International, US Toy, and Steal Street. In addition, Kaiyodo made a larva. Most figures of adults appear to be modeled after the female of the Taiwanese subspecies, H. g. formosana. Larvae feed on plants in the family Capparaceae.

Broad-bordered Grass Yellow, Eurema brigitta
This pierid, to the best of my knowledge, is unique in toy/figure form. The species is widespread in Asia, Africa, and Australia; larvae feed on Hypericum aethiopicum and Chamaecrista mimosoides.

Tailed Jay, Graphium agamemnon
This swallowtail occurs in Southeast Asia, from the Indian subcontinent to Australia. The only other figure of this species I am aware of is also by Safari Ltd., for their Authentics collection. Its larvae feed on Polyalthia longifolia.

Orange-barred Sulfur, Phoebix philea
Ah yes, another favorite by Safari Ltd, having also been made for their Authentics Butterfly Collection, Butterflies TOOB, and Hidden Kingdom Insects collection. The species occurs from southern United States (breeding only in southern Florida) south to Brazil; larvae feed on Cassia species.

Large Oakblue, Arhopala amantes
To the best of my knowledge, this is a unique species, although some of the unidentified figures by Toy Major or K&M International could be attributed to this species if one wishes. This Asian butterfly is the largest member of the family Lycaenidae; its larvae feed on Syzygium, Terminalia and Hopea species.

Orange Albatross, Appias nero
This is another unique species in toy form. It is distributed throughout much of Southeast Asia, from India to the Philippines. Host food plants are unknown, but other members of the genus feed on Capparis.

Common Morpho, Morpho peleides
I know, I know, you are saying, Blaine how can you call this a Morpho? Hey, that’s what Safari labeled it as, despite the fact it has tails!!! Uggh. But, that’s what Safari marketed it as. I have to admit, as much as I hate to alter figures, I have since cut the tails off this one. Safari makes morphos with some frequency, although they are not always identified to the species level. Other figures from Safari I consider to be M. peleides are the ones in the Insects TOOB (also with tails, I might add), Good Luck Minis, and Authentics Butterflies. Other figures of this species were made by Bullyland, Furuta, and Innovative Kids. This species occurs in Central and South America and has a rather broad host range.

Paper Kite, Idea leuconoe
Yes, really. Another figure with unnecessarily added tails! Yikes. Like with the morpho (above), I have since cut the tails off of mine. Safari also did this species in their Authentics collection (without tails) but neither compares to the adult (and pupa) done by Yujin in their Insects of Japan Series. A couple figures by K&M International might also be attributable to this species, as they used the same sculpt and paint style, and Kaiyodo made a larva. The species occurs in Southeast Asia, Australia, and Japan; larvae have a broad host range.

Eastern Tiger Swallowtail, Papilio glaucus
This common and familiar species from eastern North America is no stranger in toy/figure form. In addition to Safari’s Hidden Kingdom Insects figure, it has also been made by Toy Major, Innovative Kids, and Club Earth. The Franklin Mint made a porcelain sculpture as well! Larvae feed on plants in the families Magnoliaceae and Rosaceae.

As mentioned earlier, this 2001 collection does still show up on eBay. It is a good chance to get a variety of species, including a few unique ones. A couple of the figures have obvious anatomical errors, and they are rather soft, but this collection is a welcome addition to a ‘species collector’.