Lepidoptera

[Hercules beetle]

hornworms or hawk moths, Sphingidae.

From left to right:
1) deaths-head hawkmoth, caterpillar, Acherontia lachesis (Kaiyodo, Capsule Q Caterpillars 1)
2) scrofa moth, Hippotion scrofa (Cadbury, Yowies--Australian release)
3) impatiens hawkmoth, caterpillar, Theretra oldenlandiae (Kaiyodo, Capsule Q Caterpillars 2)

I have had a life long obsession with sphiginidae!  since i saw them in my bug book when i was 5 i thought they were awesome, now, i need those figures. i just want all of these! thos australian cadbury yowies come up with good stuff... any idea where i can find some of their figurines?  also, the deaths head hawk moth is one of my favourites , do you know where you can get that caterpilar?

[brontodocus]

Seeing some atlases on ebay... must be new right? would of seen it before.

The Kaiyodo CapsuleQ Museum Animatales Series 7 (Yaeyama) set has been released just a few weeks ago.

Oh, and the Hippotion scrofa is great, too! The CapsuleQ Museum Caterpillars can be bought via ebay or Rakuten.

So here are a few I have (didn't upload any photos of my CapsuleQ Museum caterpillars, yet...

Zygaenidae:

Erasmia pulchella nipponica Inoue, 1976. Yujin Insects of Japan Series 2 No. 24 (secret item). All those Yujin Insects of Japan figures are life size and I believe at least some of them were partially cast from real specimens.

Bombycidae:

Bombyx mori (Linnaeus, 1758); Domesticated Silkmoth. Takara Tomy A.R.T.S 3D Capsule Encyclopedia Insect Head No. 4. Head width 19 mm, scale approx. 5:1.

Lycaenidae:

Neozephyrus japonicus (Murray, 1875). Yujin Insects of Japan Series 4 No. 36.

Papilionidae:

Graphium doson C. & R. Felder, 1864; Common Jay. Yujin Insects of Japan Series 3 No. 29.


Graphium sarpedon (Linnaeus, 1758); Common Bluebottle. Yujin Insects of Japan Series 4 No. 35.


Papilio bianor Cramer, 1777; Chinese Peacock Butterfly. Yujin Insects of Japan Series 3 No. 27.


Papilio helenus Linnaeus, 1758, Red Helen. Yujin Insects of Japan Series 4 No. 37.

Nymphalidae:

Danaus (Salatura) genutia Cramer, 1779; Chinese Monarch Butterfly. Yujin Insects of Japan Series 3 No. 25.


Idea leuconoe Erichson, 1834, Paper Kite. Yujin Insects of Japan Series 4. Chrysalis No. 38 (secret figure). Imago No. 32. Walk-around here: http://www.animaltoyforum.com/index.php/topic,480.0.html


Agrias aedon narcissus (Staudinger, 1855). Furuta ChocoEgg Funny Animals Series 6 No. 03. Wing span 56 mm, scale approx. 1:2. Annoyingly with six equally sized legs.


Morpho cf. didius Hopffer, 1874 (=Morpho menelaus didius), Giant Blue Morpho. Safari Ltd. / The Smithsonian Collection. Length of forewing 92 mm, wing span approx. 178 mm, scale approx. 1:0.8 - 1:0.9. The model stands on six legs, too, so it doesn't show the reduced front legs of Nymphalidae.


Callicore cf. eunomia (Hewitson, 1853); Eunomia Eighty-eight butterfly. Nature's Wonders HD. Length of forewing 60 mm, scale approx. 1:0.3. The model stands on six legs (even hough the third pair is inconspicuously molded to the posterior margin of the hindwing) and doesn't show the reduced front legs of Nymphalidae either.

EDIT 2015-07-08: Fixed dead image links.

[Hercules beetle]

Great pics too. awesome butterflies. 

[bmathison1972]

the ever-popular monarch butterfly, Danaus plexippus.

This figure is commonly made as a toy/figure, from bin-sets to authentic replicas. Here are some of my figures of this species:

TOP ROW, left to right:
1) larva, Safari LTD (Smithsonian Insects)
2) adult, Safari LTD (Hidden Kingdom Insects-original)
3) small adult, Safari LTD (Authentics Insects Box Set)
4) adult, CollectA

BOTTOM ROW, left to right:
1) adult, Cadbury (Yowies-Australian release)
2) adult, Cadbury (Yowies-UK release)
3) life cycle, Safari LTD (Safariology)--the adult will be released individually in 2015 as a 'Hidden Kingdoms' figure.

[Hercules beetle]

the ever-popular monarch butterfly, Danaus plexippus.

This figure is commonly made as a toy/figure, from bin-sets to authentic replicas. Here are some of my figures of this species:

TOP ROW, left to right:
1) larva, Safari LTD (Smithsonian Insects)
2) adult, Safari LTD (Hidden Kingdom Insects-original)
3) small adult, Safari LTD (Authentics Insects Box Set)
4) adult, CollectA

BOTTOM ROW, left to right:
1) adult, Cadbury (Yowies-Australian release)
2) adult, Cadbury (Yowies-UK release)
3) life cycle, Safari LTD (Safariology)--the adult will be released individually in 2015 as a 'Hidden Kingdoms' figure.

Cool. i plan on getting the wild republic bug set which has a monarch.
but i really want the DHHM caterpillar.

[bmathison1972]

Cool. i plan on getting the wild republic bug set which has a monarch.
but i really want the DHHM caterpillar.

I have several other monarchs except the Wild Republic bag set figure. I have every other insect in that set (bought them individually). I've read online that it is a viceroy figure but I haven't seen it to confirm either way.

[bmathison1972]

here are some smaller, papilionid figures (not already illustrated above):

BACK ROW, left to right:
1) Asian swallowtail, Papilio xuthus (Rement)
2) Papilio xuthus (Kabaya, World Insects Series 1)
3) Eversmann's Parnassian, Parnassius eversmanni (Kaiyodo, Natural Monuments of Japan)

MIDDLE ROW, left to right:
1) Papilio xuthus (Furuta, Insect Science)
2) common bluebottle, Graphium sarpedon (Cadbury, Yowies-Australian release)
3) Old World Swallowtail, larva Papilio machaon (Kaiyodo Capsule Q Caterpillars 2)
4) Japanese Leuhdorfia, Luehdorfia japonica (Kaiyodo, Choco Q Animatales)

BOTTOM ROW, left to right:
1) common green birdwing, Ornithoptera priamus (Cadbury, Yowies-Australian release)
2) Ornithoptera priamus (Cadbury, Yowies-UK release)
3) the spangle, larva, Papilio protenor (Kaiyodo, Capsule Q Caterpillars 2)
4) Papilio xuthus, larva (Kaiyodo, Capsule Q Caterpillars 1)
5) goliath birdwing, Ornithoptera goliath (Kabaya, World Insects Series 1)

[Hercules beetle]

here are some smaller, papilionid figures (not already illustrated above):

BACK ROW, left to right:
1) Asian swallowtail, Papilio xuthus (Rement)
2) Papilio xuthus (Kabaya, World Insects Series 1)
3) Eversmann's Parnassian, Parnassius eversmanni (Kaiyodo, Natural Monuments of Japan)

MIDDLE ROW, left to right:
1) Papilio xuthus (Furuta, Insect Science)
2) common bluebottle, Graphium sarpedon (Cadbury, Yowies-Australian release)
3) Old World Swallowtail, larva Papilio machaon (Kaiyodo Capsule Q Caterpillars 2)
4) Japanese Leuhdorfia, Luehdorfia japonica (Kaiyodo, Choco Q Animatales)

BOTTOM ROW, left to right:
1) common green birdwing, Ornithoptera priamus (Cadbury, Yowies-Australian release)
2) Ornithoptera priamus (Cadbury, Yowies-UK release)
3) the spangle, larva, Papilio protenor (Kaiyodo, Capsule Q Caterpillars 2)
4) Papilio xuthus, larva (Kaiyodo, Capsule Q Caterpillars 1)
5) goliath birdwing, Ornithoptera goliath (Kabaya, World Insects Series 1)

Found the swallowtail caterpillar whilst i was looking for the new kaiyodos.

[Hercules beetle]

hornworms or hawk moths, Sphingidae.

From left to right:
1) deaths-head hawkmoth, caterpillar, Acherontia lachesis (Kaiyodo, Capsule Q Caterpillars 1)
2) scrofa moth, Hippotion scrofa (Cadbury, Yowies--Australian release)
3) impatiens hawkmoth, caterpillar, Theretra oldenlandiae (Kaiyodo, Capsule Q Caterpillars 2)

I know its not detailed but i really want that hawk moth. i am seeing yowies animal sets on ebay but the listing pictures are the toy bags stacked on top of eachother so you cant see all of the prizes

[widukind]

All looks beautieful

[bmathison1972]

Walk around of the monarch butterfly, Danaus plexippus (Linnaeus, 1758) by CollectA (2013).

The monarch is a very familiar butterfly, and I have several figures from major name brands alone (not to mention several bin/drug store/dollar store style figures). The species occurs throughout North America and also Australia and the Malaysian Archipelago, Sri Lanka, India, and the Canary Islands.

CollectA lately is leading the charge in making interesting species of great quality. While their insects are not always the most interesting or obscure species, the quality is the BEST right now of the non-Japanese/gashapon figures. And this beauty is no exception. Overall, even though I am taxonomically selective, I praise CollectA for always putting out a nice variety of taxa each year! They don't do insects every year but they are the only major non-Japanese brand that still routinely makes them!

The figure and its paint job is spectacular. And look!!! Note, only four walking legs (as the Nymphalidae should have)!!! The posture makes it difficult to measure. With the wings up, it stands 60 mm tall; based on specimens I collected in Arizona it is roughly 1:1 (maybe slightly smaller--they are relatively large nymphalids!).

[brontodocus]

Much better than I had expected! And, yes, we rarely see figures of four-footed butterflies which are actually four-footed... Even Japanese companies can get this wrong: http://animaltoyforum.com/index.php?topic=906.0

[Jetoar]

Really beautiful figure. In the Iberian Peninsula we have this specie also. The four legs it is a great detail  .

[bmathison1972]

pipevine swallowtail, Battus philenor (Linnaeus, 1771).

Interesting figures for this little diorama. The more realistic caterpillar is from my recent Beam set; the less realistic one is a bin-style knockoff (although I have a feeling they are both PlayVisions knockoffs...). The adult is from an unknown bin set a bought years ago; no detail or names underneath but most of the butterflies are readily identifiable. What makes this figure funny is that the color seen here is actually what's seen on the animals' venter. The dorsal color looks like this: http://bugguide.net/node/view/836424/bgimage

[BugFolk]

Noting two different coloring styles here. The cleanly stamped or printed patterns have no brand name mentioned. Just a random number, the name of the species and where it was made (China).  Any iridescent finishes were my customization. The others with the airbrushed/ hand painted finish are marked with a circled T.M.

The T.M. marked butterflies, does anyone know what that means or where the rest of their stuff can be found? And the unlabeled printed ones? Where did they come from? They were earlier than the airbrushed ones.



Names are on the undersides. I shot some pics of the labels but haven't uploaded them yet.  Yeah I rushed with this photo. Had to go to work right after snapping it.

Even more Unmarked, TM and random butterflies:


Recent acquisition:
CollectA Small tortoiseshell Butterfly:


Caterpillars:

Some were labeled with the species but no brand name mentioned.  Some came in sets. They were purchased around the time I got the butterflies and P.V. Beetles. (which makes me wonder if they are Play Visions but they didn't brand their Lepidoptera lines?

[stargatedalek]

(T.M.) indicates Toy Major, Toy Major has done a lot of bootlegging but that's all I know about these.

[bmathison1972]

I have all those same butterflies (and caterpillars) but none of mine have names on the bottom. Maybe mine are knock-offs of the knock-offs? :-). Many are recognizable to the species level (red admiral, great purple hairstreak, dogface, pipevine swallowtail, etc etc).

[bmathison1972]

I have all those same butterflies (and caterpillars) but none of mine have names on the bottom. Maybe mine are knock-offs of the knock-offs? :-). Many are recognizable to the species level (red admiral, great purple hairstreak, dogface, pipevine swallowtail, etc etc).

CORRECTION: I have double-checked mine, and the are Toy Major (TM) figures, but don't have names on them (although as I said most are recognizable at the species level).

[Jetoar]

Beautiful butterflies figures  .

[bmathison1972]

puss moth caterpillar, Cerura vinula (Linnaeus, 1758) by Sun Wai Toys. Total length 29 cm.