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.
Classification: True Bugs & Kin
Fleas, Lice, and Ticks (Play Visions)
5 (1 votes)
OK folks, here we are. I was finally able to complete this holiest of Holy Grail sets, thanks to STS forum member NMR_Okapi who found me the last missing figure! Most of you who follow me on the Blog and forums know I am a professional parasitologist, so it should be no surprise that this has been one of the most sought-after sets for someone like me.
Japanese Giant Water Bug (Revogeo by Kaiyodo)
4 (4 votes)
Today we are looking at the fourth figure in Kaiyodo’s Revogeo line, following the emperor scorpion (2019), red-clawed crab (2019), and Asian giant hornet (2020). The subject of today’s review is the Japanese giant water bug, Kirkaldyia deyrollei (historically referred to as Lethocerus deyrollei). This giant belostomatid occurs throught much of East Asia, including eastern China, the Amur region of Russia, the Korean Peninsula, Indochina, and Japan.
Robust Cicada (Insects of Japan Vol. 1 by Yujin)
The Minmin Cicada (Hyalessa maculaticollis) is a cicada that owes it’s name to it’s cry which goes like “min—minminminminmi…” it is well known in Japan. This is a review on the figurines Yujin made of this species.
Large Brown Cicada, ecdysis process (Bandai, Bandai Spirits, Break Co. Ltd., & Kaiyodo)
5 (2 votes)
Today we are looking at the ecdysis process of the large brown cicada (Graptopsaltria nigrofuscata), a species of cicada distributed throughout much of Southeast Asia, including China, the Korean Peninsula, and Japan. The ecdysis process is whereby a growing animal sheds its skin as it gets larger (e.g., a molting snake) or an insect advancing to the next stage of development, as we will see in this review.