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.
Classification: Insects
Caterpillars to Go (Club Earth)
2.8 (5 votes)
Nearly two years ago to the day, I reviewed Club Earth’s Butterflies to Go collection after acquiring the last figures for that Holy Grail collection. Now today I get to do the same thing for the Caterpillars to Go collection, again having received the last figure in this Holy Grail Collection.
Citrus Long-horned Beetle (Diversity of Life on Earth: Stag Beetles Vol. 4 by Bandai)
5 (2 votes)
The citrus long-horned beetle (Anoplophora chinensis) is a cerambycid beetle native to East Asia. Larvae develop in various hardwoods, and the beetle is considered a pest of several ornamental and commercial food plants, including citrus, pecan, apple, sycamore, willow, pear, mulberry, litchi, kumquat, fig, and many others.
Malayan Jungle Nymph (Ichiban Kuji World Insect Museum by Bandai Spirits)
5 (1 votes)
The Malayan jungle nymph (Heteropteryx dilatata) is a large phasmid (stick insect) endemic to the Malay Peninsula in Thailand, Singapore, Sumatra, and Borneo. It is sexually dimorphic, with the smaller males being 9-13 cm long and the larger females 14-17 cm long, with reports of some females reaching 25 cm in length.
Goliath Beetle (Ladybugs & Cetoniinae by Stasto 3D File)
5 (1 votes)
For today’s review we will be looking at the Goliath beetle (Goliathus goliatus) by Stasto 3D File in the 2022 collection, Ladybugs Cetoniinae. Unlike most blogposts, which focus on the animal and the figure itself, I am going to focus on how the figure is packaged and assembled (especially since I recently reviewed this species).
Animal Collection 1/1 Dung beetles (SO-TA)
4.8 (4 votes)
SO-TA, a Japanese toy company, released this set of dung beetles in July 2022. There are actually two sets. These sets were released as a gashapon set (plastic eggs in vending machines) and as a boxed set. The sets both contained the same two species but in different colour schemes. The box set has a metallic brown coloured Kepher sp.
Goliath Beetle (Diversity of Life on Earth: Beetles Vol. 3 by Bandai)
5 (4 votes)
The Goliath beetle, Goliathus goliatus, is often regarded as the largest insect, at least in terms of weight (and if not this species, then one of its congeners). Goliath beetles have been reported as weighing upwards to 100 grams. The genus is endemic to sub-Saharan Africa, and G.
Honey Bee (Incredible Creatures by Safari Ltd.)
3 (3 votes)
Walk around of the honey bee, Apis mellifera Linnaeus, 1758 by Safari LTD for their Incredible Creatures line, originally released in 2006. What is surprising about this figure is that it is the ONLY insect to ever be released in the Incredible Creatures line, and it would be the only terrestrial arthropod if not for the recent sinking of the old Hidden Kingdom line into the IC line (of course, the only remaining figures in that line are the monarch, black widow, orange-kneed tarantula, and revamped scorpion).
Jewel Beetle (Puripura by Model Innovative Creation)
3 (2 votes)
Chrysochroa fulgidissima is a colorful metallic wood-boring beetle (family Buprestidae) from Japan. It goes by Yamato tamamushi in Japanese which roughly translates to ‘jewel beetle’. Historically, it was believed to be more widespread in Southeast Asia, but populations from Korea, China, and Vietnam have been described as new species.
Flea (Smithsonian Insects by Safari Ltd.)
5 (2 votes)
Fleas are one of the most medically important groups of arthropods, probably only second to ticks and mosquitoes. They are vectors for many disease-causing agents, including those that cause plague, feline rickettsiae, and endemic typhus, and can serve as intermediate hosts for a few tapeworms. The Oriental rat flea, Xenopsylla cheopis, was a driving force in the spread of the Black Death pandemic in the 1300s.
European Stag Beetle (Wild Animals by Papo)
5 (2 votes)
The European stag beetle, Lucanus cervus, is an iconic insect of the European hardwood forests. Unfortunately, its numbers dropped in the 20th Century due to modern forestry, which removed dead oak and beech trees required for larval development. The beetle gets its Latin epithet, cervus, and its common name ‘stag beetle’ after Cervus elaphus (red deer), as the mandibles of a major male are reminiscent of the antlers of a red deer stag.
Ant (Wild Animals by Papo)
4.3 (4 votes)
One bright day in late autumn a family of ants were bustling about in the warm sunshine, drying out the grain they had stored up during the summer, when a starving grasshopper, his fiddle under his arm, came up and humbly begged for a bite to eat.
“What!” cried the ants in surprise, “haven’t you stored anything away for the winter?
Clouded Yellow (Wild Animals by Papo)
5 (1 votes)
I started collecting insects when I was in Junior High School, so roughly 1984 or so. Like most beginners, I collected conspicuous and familiar species in my neighborhood, including of course butterflies and moths. Among the Lepidoptera my favorites were members of the family Pieridae, commonly referred to as whites, yellows, sulfurs, and orange-tips due to their delicate off-whites and pastel oranges and yellows.
Old World Swallowtail, adult and caterpillar (Wild Animals by Papo)
5 (2 votes)
While commonly referred to as the ‘Old World swallowtail’, Papilio machaon has a very wide distribution, widest of any of the Papilionidae, covering most of the Palearctic and into western North America. Part of the species’ success is its tolerance for a variety of habitats and host plants. The butterfly can be found in forests, grasslands, hilltops, Alpine meadows, tundra, wetlands, disturbed areas, parks, and gardens.
Giraffe Stag Beetle (Revogeo by Kaiyodo)
3 (2 votes)
Today I am continuing reviews of Kaiyodo’s Revogeo arthropods with the giraffe stag beetle (Prosopocoilus giraffa) which was released in late 2021. This is the fifth figure in the series following an emperor scorpion (2019), red-clawed crab (2019), Asian giant hornet (2020), and Japanese giant water bug (2021).