Today I am reviewing another figure from the 2020 Life With Insect collection by Bandai Spirits. This time, we are looking at the larva of the Asian swallowtail, Papilio xuthus, which was part of a set of three immature insects sold together as Desktop Models. The other two in the trio are the larva of the Japanese rhinoceros beetle and the nymphal exuvia of the large brown cicada (which was already highlighted on the Blog here). This is probably the simplest figure in the Life with Insect series, but I have always loved caterpillar figures.
The Asian swallowtail is a common species of Papilionidae distributed in much of Asia and Japan; it has also now established on the Hawaiian Islands.
Asian swallowtails mate multiple times as adults, insuring increased generic diversity among their young. And with a wide geographic distribution and broad range of host plants, it has become a very successful species. Larvae feed primarily on plants in the family Rutaceae, which includes Citrus (members of which are often a food source for papilionid larvae).
Adults are medium-sized butterflies (for the family), with wingspans measuring 4.5-5.5 cm. Today, however, we are looking at the larval stage. The figure measures 6.0 cm, which puts in the 1:1 size range (all of the Life with Insect models are scaled 1:1). The figure is made from a solid piece of hard PVC, with highly-detailed paint application, and a non-gloss finish. The head has additional dimpled texture. A lot of nice detail in such a small figure.
Asian swallowtails are no stranger in toy/figure form, but they have all been made by Japanese companies. I currently have eight figures in my collection, half of which are larvae, plus I have two more caterpillars sitting in Japan waiting for air mail to resume to the United States. If you want an Asian swallowtail caterpillar in your collection, this is a nice choice. Unfortunately, because of the limited release of the Life With Insect figures, one of the Capsule Q Museum figures by Kaiyodo might be more attainable (especially since one was released this year as well).
This is probably the last of the Life With Insect figures I will review for the foreseeable future (in case anyone else would like to review one that has not been covered yet).
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Does it come in a monarch caterpillar as well im trying to get one if you have it.
No, so far this series doesn’t have a monarch caterpillar. Probably the best option now is the Safari Ltd. Life Cycle of a Monarch set.
Were can I buy the Asian swallowtail big figurine 6.o cm I’m looking to buy .
this one in this Review? or the BIG figure by Kaiyodo? The one featured here by Bandai Spirits is probably impossible to find now, check Japanese Yahoo auction sites.
Has anyone ever seen a real swallowtail caterpillar? Well i do.
I guess every one that is interested in nature and live in an area where any swallowtail species is native, that is pretty much most of the world. In my area only two species are native and both are common but I’ve seen the caterpillar of one species maaaany more times than the other species, I guess this is due that the other species feeds on trees and the first one on herbaceous plants so it’s more easy to seek.