I have decided to start my ‘spooky’ October blogposts with a trio of ‘diabolical’ insects! I am talking specifically about Idolomantis diabolica, commonly known as the Devil’s flower mantis or giant Devil’s flower mantis, one of the world’s largest mantids. It is native to the rainforests of East Central Africa, including Ethiopia, Kenya, Malawi, Somalia, Tanzania, South Sudan, and Uganda.
Classification: Arthropods
Small Tortoiseshell (Little Wonders by CollectA)
4.9 (7 votes)
Having recently showcased CollectA’s small tortoiseshell butterfly (Aglais urticae) in my daily ‘Museum’ posts on the ATF, I thought it would be a good opportunity to review it for the Blog! I was contemplating just migrating over my forum walk-around, but I am not happy with those images, so I took new ones for a fresh review.
Life Cycle of a Monarch Butterfly (Safariology by Safari Ltd.)
3.8 (10 votes)
The monarch, Danaus plexippus, is probably the most commonly made species of butterfly. It’s been made by several major company, including CollectA, Safari Ltd (at least five times), Papo, and K&M International (at least twice), and is a common edition to insect and butterfly tubes, blister packs, and box sets ( couple examples on the Blog, here and here).
Fish Assortment 2 (Wonder World by Kenner)
3.4 (7 votes)
Today I am reviewing a set of four animals I originally bought for just one of the figures. The set, which was being sold on eBay, was alerted to me on the ATF by forum member NSD Bashe. The set is called Fish Assortment 2 and it is one of four components of a larger collection that’s part of the Wonder World line by Kenner, a subsidiary of Hasbro at the time it was released (1995).
Bumble Bee (Garden Animals by Papo)
4.1 (7 votes)
The genus Bombus, which includes the bumble bees, consists of over 250 species worldwide. They occur in most terrestrial habitats throughout the Americas and the Palearctic, but are absent in much of Africa, the southern Middle East, much of the Indian subcontinent, Australia, and New Zealand (although they have been introduced to the New Zealand and Tasmania).
Common House Spider (Garden Animals by Papo)
5 (2 votes)
Before I start this review, I must again thank our friends at Happy Hen Toys who kindly donated this review sample for the Blog.
When today’s figure was first announced, it was referred to as a ‘common spider’. That left the door open for several ideas on what it might be (especially since the promo pic wasn’t taken at the most diagnostically-helpful angle).
Japan Deep Sea Life Bath Bomb Collection (Moritoku)
4.2 (5 votes)
Review and images by JimoAi; edited by bmathison1972
While deep sea life figures are seen as a rare treat amongst the western market, Japan has been mass-producing them for many years since the early 2000s, where they have been made into both high quality figures for collectors and sometimes also cheap novelty toys.
Japanese Carpenter Ants (Revogeo by Kaiyodo)
5 (3 votes)
I am continuing what seems to have become a tradition of mine, which is to review the next Kaiyodo Revogeo arthropod. Today we are looking at a pair of Japanese carpenter ants (Camponotus japonicus) which were released just last month. I discussed the geographic distribution and biology of this species here the last time I reviewed the species, so for this review I will focus exclusively on the figures themselves.
Rose Chafer (Garden Animals by Papo)
5 (4 votes)
Before I begin this review, I would again like to thank our friends at Happy Hen Toys who generously donated this review sample for the Blog!
Today I will be reviewing the European rose chafer by Papo, new for this year. When promo pics of this figure were first released, it looked to me like Protaetia cuprea, commonly known as the copper chafer.
Australian Continent TOOB (Safari Ltd.)
4.3 (13 votes)
In addition to being a country, Australia is also a continent, but the continent of Australia is not just composed of Australia itself. The Australian continent includes mainland Australia, Tasmania, New Guinea, the Aru Islands, the Ashmore and Cartier Islands, and most of the Coral Sea Islands as well as a smattering of other islands.
Ladybugs (Diversity of Life on Earth by Bandai)
5 (5 votes)
As if wasps, caterpillars, beetles, scorpions, ants, peacock spiders, mantids, and crabs weren’t enough, Bandai recently (early 2023) added a set of ladybugs (lady beetles) to add to their growing collection of arthropods in the Diversity of Life on Earth (DoLoE) line. And the set is part of their ‘Advanced’ line, which means better and more refined sculpts, better paint, and yes, of course, they are more expensive.
Honeypot Ant (Little Wonders by CollectA)
4.7 (10 votes)
The term ‘honeypot’ ant is a common name given to multiple genera of ants that are best known for the replete, or plerergate, members of their caste system. Repletes are sterile works that serve as food reserves for when other food sources are scarce. The repletes hang from the ‘ceiling’ in special chambers of the nest and are gorged with food to the point their abdomens become greatly distended with honey.
Lobster Moth, caterpillar (Diversity of Life on Earth – Caterpillars Vol. 2 by Bandai)
3.5 (10 votes)
For the most part, adult moths in the family Notodontidae (commonly referred to as the ‘prominents’) are relatively drab moths, at least in the Northern Hemisphere. There are exceptions, of course, but in general they are fairly non-descript (to the casual observer) brown and grey moths typical of those seen at a porch light on a warm, humid summer’s eve.
Bullet Ant (Diversity of Life on Earth – Ants by Bandai)
5 (5 votes)
The bullet ant (Paraponera clavata) is a notorious insect from the rainforests of Central and South America. It is often regarded as having one of the most painful stings of any insect, and currently has a rating of 4.0+ (the highest possible) on Schmidt’s Sting Pain Index.
Japanese Carpenter Ants (Epoch)
5 (2 votes)
The Japanese carpenter ant (Camponotus japonicus) is a widely-distributed species that occurs throughout much of East Asia, from Pakistan and Mongolia, east to China, Russia (eastern Siberia), and the Philippines, and Japan. Like other carpenter ants, colonies, which can consist of thousands of individuals, occurs in dead and decaying wood, such as logs and the dead, hollowed-out part of standing trees.