Praying mantises are cool – I think that’s an opinion I can safely say is shared between many animal enthusiasts. Out of all the hundreds of thousands of insects known to science, probably no group is equal parts so peculiar and charismatic as Order Mantodea, the mantises. It’s only natural, then, that a number of toy and collectible animal brands have tackled mantises and continue to do so.
Classification: Orthopteroids
Giant Devil’s Flower Mantis (Bandai and Bandai Spirits)
5 (4 votes)
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.
Australian Continent TOOB (Safari Ltd.)
4.2 (11 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.
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.
Figure Pictorial Book of Gakken Insect (Bandai)
5 (1 votes)
Today we will be looking at a rather fun set called Figure Pictorial Book of Gakken Insect (well, at least that’s the translation) by Bandai. The set was produced in 2003 and contains five species of Japanese arthropods. When I initially started focusing on arthropods, this was one of my ‘Holy Grail’ collections; luckily I was able to secure it fairly early on.
Southeast Asian Dead Leaf Mantis (Diversity of Life on Earth – Japanese Giant Mantis Vol. 2 by Bandai)
5 (1 votes)
Earlier this year I reviewed a pair of Japanese giant mantids (Tenodera aridifolia) from Bandai’s Diversity of Life on Earth Line. In October of this year, the second volume in the mantid series was released. As the name of the set suggests, there were two more figures of T.
Carolina Mantis (Insect Predators by Trendmasters)
3.5 (2 votes)
Collectors of figures and memorabilia from the Godzilla franchise should be familiar with Trendmasters. But did you know they released a series of ‘Insect Predators’ in 1993? Well, they did! The series consisted of a scorpion (unidentified, but presumably the emperor scorpion, Pandinus imperator), the giant stag beetle (Lucanus elaphas), a ‘killer’ bee (Apis mellifera), a wasp (Bembix americana), a mosquito (Aedes taeniorhynchus), and the subject of today’s review, the Carolina mantis (Stagmomantis carolina).
Praying Mantis (Little Wonders by CollectA)
3 (2 votes)
Review and images by Animal Lover; edited by bmathison1972
Hello fellow readers and collectors! I am “Animal Lover”. On the Dinosaur Toy Blog, I write reviews by the name “Prehistory Resurrection” (my old name was “Resurrection of the Dinosaurs”). I wrote about more than 10 reviews for the Dinosaur Toy Blog.
Grasshopper (Wild Animals by Papo)
4 (1 votes)
Today I am continuing my review of the 2020 Papo invertebrates with their grasshopper figure. First, we should discuss the possible identity of the species. Given the shape (especially head shape), color, and that France-based Papo likes to focus on its local fauna, I am identifying the figure as the common green grasshopper, Omocestus viridulus.
Japanese Giant Mantis (Diversity of Life on Earth – Japanese Giant Mantis by Bandai)
5 (2 votes)
The Japanese giant mantis (Tenodera aridifolia) is a large mantid distributed in Japan, Taiwan, and China. There has been some confusion on the taxonomic identity of this species, as the Chinese mantis (T. sinensis), which is more familiar to most casual observers and non-specialists, was originally described as a subspecies of T.
Little Barrier Giant Weta (Life with Insect by Bandai Spirits)
5 (3 votes)
Today we are looking at the Little Barrier giant weta (Deinacrida heteracantha) by Bandai Spirits (a sister company to Bandai) for their 2020 series, Life With Insect. The Life With Insect series was a special release only sold at a grocery store chain in Japan. The figures started to sell out quickly and now permeate online markets, such as eBay, fetching exhorbitant prices!
Mini Insects and Spiders (Mini Animals Collection by CollectA)
4 (2 votes)
Ever since CollectA started releasing collections of mini dinosaurs based on their larger and standard-size dinosaurs, I knew that if they ever released a set of mini arthropods, it would represent miniature versions of their Insects and Spiders Collection. I was correct. I was not expecting it 2020, but at least I had figured out their plan.
Chinese Mantis (Living Things Series by Fujimi Mokei)
5 (2 votes)
Review and images by Isurus; edited by bmathison1972
This figure today is “Living Thing Series No. 23 Chinese Mantis” from Fujimi Mokei. This figure is marketed as the Japanese giant mantis, Tenodera aridifolia, but was painted as the Chinese mantis, T. sinensis, since the species occurs here in Korea.
Life Cycle of a Praying Mantis (Insect Lore)
4 (2 votes)
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).
Dubia Roach (Micky Maus by Egmont Ehapa Publishing Company)
5 (2 votes)
Micky Maus is a biweekly comic book series featuring Disney characters. It is published in Germany by the Egmont Ehapa Publishing Company. Some (all?) issues come with a toy of sorts and the February 7, 2020 issue came with large rubber cockroach. I have forum member widukind to thank for securing me a copy and mailing it to me!