Mathison Museum of Natural History

Species: Anax junius (Drury, 1773) (green darner; common green darner)

About the Figure:
Manufacturer: Safari Ltd.
Series: Smithsonian Insects
Year of Production: 1994
Size/Scale: Wingspan 19.5 cm. Body length 14.0 cm for a scale of 2:1-1.75:1
Frequency of species in toy/figure form (at time of posting): Rare
Miscellaneous Notes: Safari Ltd. made three sizes of this species. Today's was the largest, as most of the Smithsonian Insects figures were sculpted at twice natural size. They made a slightly smaller version (still larger than 1:1) in 2000 for the Hidden Kingdom Collection that followed the Smithsonian collection. In 1995, they made a small version for the Authentics Insects Collection.

About the Animal:
Geographic distribution: North and Central America, Hawaii, West Indies; vagrants in Bermuda, Russia, East Asia, Japan, Europe
Habitat: Breeding occurs in freshwater habitats, such as lakes, ponds, slow rivers and streams; adults can travel great distances to hunt and may be found in forests, grasslands, deserts, parks, gardens, urban areas
Diet: Nymphs feed on freshwater invertebrates, small fish, tadpoles; adults feed on flying insects
IUCN Status (at time of posting): Least Concern
Miscellaneous Notes: Anax junius is a migratory species. Recent research suggests there may be three generations a year. The first generation emerges as adults in the southern part of its range and migrates north during the spring and summer. The second generation emerges in the summer in the northern part of its range and migrates south during the fall. The third generation emerges in the southern part of the range, but does not migrate. Anax junius has been recorded migrating up to 140 km/day.

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That is a beautiful model (and pic!). I may have to look for that one.

pipsxlch wrote:

That is a beautiful model (and pic!). I may have to look for that one.

It is LONG retired, but they show up on eBay from time to time. Search 'Safari Ltd. Smithsonian Insect [or Dragonfly]'. Otherwise you may only find it's Hidden Kingdom successor (which is nice, too)

Beautiful species, model and picture!

bmathison1972 wrote:

Roger wrote:

We only have 5 of the 24 figures listed on TAW and this is one of the many missing.
Knowing better Funrise, it is hard to understand why they decided to release such an extensive series of arthropod figures but fortunately they did it. I think we don't know a similar set from Toy Major.

you can use this photo for TAI if you want (any in this thread, really).

EDIT: however, I suggest you do not use the name Athous haemorrhoidalis in TAI; that is what I am databasing it for my collection, but it's really too generic to be confirmatory. It could confuse the TAI audience more than help it :)

OK, so I rescued the click beetle and the black widow from this topic to put on TAW. I listed the click beetle just as a click beetle but when I've read your edit, the black widow was already listed as a Mediterranean black widow. Do you think I should move it to Southern black widow or just list it under the genus level?

Roger wrote:

bmathison1972 wrote:

Roger wrote:

We only have 5 of the 24 figures listed on TAW and this is one of the many missing.
Knowing better Funrise, it is hard to understand why they decided to release such an extensive series of arthropod figures but fortunately they did it. I think we don't know a similar set from Toy Major.

you can use this photo for TAI if you want (any in this thread, really).

EDIT: however, I suggest you do not use the name Athous haemorrhoidalis in TAI; that is what I am databasing it for my collection, but it's really too generic to be confirmatory. It could confuse the TAI audience more than help it :)

OK, so I rescued the click beetle and the black widow from this topic to put on TAW. I listed the click beetle just as a click beetle but when I've read your edit, the black widow was already listed as a Mediterranean black widow. Do you think I should move it to Southern black widow or just list it under the genus level?

I think it's safe to call the black widow a Mediterranean black widow; the southern widow wouldn't have red spots like that as an adult.

Species: Daphnia pulex Leydig, 1860 (water flea)

About the Figure:
Manufacturer: Kaiyodo
Series: Microcosmos
Year of Production: 2014
Size/Scale: Black base 3.0 cm in diameter. Acrylic backdrop 4.5 cm in diameter. Body length 3.0 cm for a scale of 150:1-10:1
Frequency of species in toy/figure form (at time of posting): Uncommon
Miscellaneous Notes: This is the second time we've seen D. pulex in the Museum. The animal is removable from its base. Kaiyodo made this species three times, and while they are all the same size and very similar in overall appearance, it is hard to tell if they represent the same sculpt (the Enoshima Aquarium figure was presented in the Museum already, back on January 22, 2022). They are all very similar but the internal structures don't all look exactly the same.

About the Animal:
Geographic distribution: Cosmopolitan
Habitat: Still freshwater, including ponds, lakes, swamps, ephemeral pools, poorly-maintained swimming pools
Diet: Phytoplankton, algae, bacteria, detritus
IUCN Status (at time of posting): Not Evaluated
Miscellaneous Notes: Daphnia pulex is a major part of the freshwater ecosystem, as the water fleas serve as a food source for many vertebrate and invertebrate aquatic predators. Also, D. pulex is essential for converting phytoplankton and decaying matter into a more usable form.

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Very beautiful display!

Species: Macaca nigra (Desmarest, 1822) (Celebes crested macaque)

About the Figure:
Manufacturer: Mojö Fun
Series: Wildlife
Year of Production: 2014
Size/Scale: Total figure length 7.5 cm. Height at shoulder 5.3 cm. Scale difficult to calculate, but body length from snout to tail 7.5 cm for a scale of 1:6.9-1:7.6
Frequency of species in toy/figure form (at time of posting): Very rare
Miscellaneous Notes: This figure has a deep connection to the STS forum. If I understand the history correctly, it was designed and/or sculpted by former STS forum member James Connelly with input by forum member Kikimalou, who has used M. nigra as his forum avatar for years.

About the Animal:
Geographic distribution: Indonesia (Sulawesi, Pulau Manadotua, Pulau Talise, Pulau Bacan)
Habitat: Rainforest
Diet: Primarily fruit; when fruit is scarce, diet is supplemented with shoots, leaves, invertebrates, small mammals, reptiles, eggs
IUCN Status (at time of posting): Critically Endangered
Miscellaneous Notes: Macaca nigra lives in groups of roughly 5-25 animals, although some groups can have up to 75 animals. Smaller groups typically have a single mature male, but larger groups can have upwards of four mature males. Macaca nigra is promiscuous, with both males and females having multiple partners. In larger groups with multiple males, females will pursue higher-ranking males in the group. However; all males, regardless of rank, usually have an equal opportunity for mating.

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beautiful model of a a species whose social behaviour seems rather liberal for a primate!

Yes, the story is basically the one you are telling. Mojö Fun was kind enough to perpetuate a remarkable collector with this release. What's fun is that Christoph'es avatar is a Play Visions model. That's a beauttiful figure and represents a rarely made species.
Thanks also for confirming the black widow species identification.

A wonderful figure

Roger wrote:

Yes, the story is basically the one you are telling. Mojö Fun was kind enough to perpetuate a remarkable collector with this release. What's fun is that Christoph'es avatar is a Play Visions model. That's a beauttiful figure and represents a rarely made species.
Thanks also for confirming the black widow species identification.

Thank you for confirming; I got a lot of that info from Christophe via PM yesterday.

Great, unique model with an interesting history!

Species: Theretra oldenlandiae (Fabricius, 1775) (impatiens hawkmoth; taro hornworm)

About the Figure:
Manufacturer: Kaiyodo
Series: Capsule Q Museum - Caterpillars Vol. 2
Year of Production: 2014
Size/Scale: Body length 7.5 cm, slightly larger than 1:1 (see below)
Frequency of species in toy/figure form (at time of posting): Unique
Miscellaneous Notes: This is one of several species in the Capsule Q Museum Caterpillars collections that is represented only by a larva in toy form (to the best of my knowledge). This figure is slightly larger than 1:1, with the natural length of the larva of the species attaining approximately 7.0 cm.

About the Animal:
Geographic distribution: Southeast Asia, Japan, Australia
Habitat: Open lowlands, agricultural fields
Diet: Larvae feed on a wide variety of plants, including members of the genera Alocasia, Amorphophallus, Arisaema (cobra lilies), Caladium (elephant ear), Colocasia, Cryptocoryne (crypts), Pinellia (green dragons), Zantedeschia (arum lily), Impatiens, Careya, Planchonia (billy goat plum), Hibbertia (guinea flowers), Clarkia (godetia), Epilobium (willowherbs), Fuchsia (fuchsia), Coelospermum, Oldenlandia, Ampelocissus, Ampelopsis (peppervine), Cayratia (slender grape), Pentas (star cluster), Vitis (grape); adults feed on nectar
IUCN Status (at time of posting): Not Evaluated
Miscellaneous Notes: In some regions, T. oldenlandiae is considered a pest, especially of Impatiens wallerana (busy lizzie) and Fuchsia spp. (fuchsias).

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Very fine unique model!

I think the caterpillar is more beautiful than the adult. Actually that's a beautiful piece and picture.

Species: Aglais io (Linnaeus, 1758) (European peacock)

About the Figure:
Manufacturers: K&M International; Insect Lore
Series: Mini Butterfly Polybag; Big Bunch-O Butterflies
Years of Production: unknown; 2013
Size/Scale: Wingspan 3.5 cm for an average scale of 1:2
Frequency of species in toy/figure form (at time of posting): Uncommon
Miscellaneous Notes: Neither figure is identified at the species level and the identifications are my own, based on a larger figure made by K&M International. The figure on the upper left is by K&M International; the one on the lower right is by Insect Lore. The two figures are nearly identical and without unique markings. I only know which is which because I can compare the nuances of the paint application with images in earlier posts on the forum! Whether Insect Lore copied K&M (I do know the K&M model came first) or they both outsourced the same manufacturer, I do not know.

About the Animal:
Geographic distribution: Palearctic
Habitat: Woodlands, fields, meadows, pastures, parks, gardens
Diet: Larvae feed primarily on plants in the genera Urtica (nettles) and Humulus (hops); adults take nectar from flowers and feed on tree sap and rotting fruit
IUCN Status (at time of posting): Not Evaluated
Miscellaneous Notes: The large eyespots on the hind wings of A. io are believed to be a defense mechanism to confuse predators such as passerine birds. The butterfly can also emit a hissing sound to confuse or ward off would-be predators.

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Surely the same manufacturer. Nobody copied. Those minis never justify an investment of new moulds for this kind of brands. Some global China/HK manufacturer for sure. We're finding lately that Toy Major was particularly effective on USA market.

Beautiful species and pîcture!

Species: Aeshna nigroflava Martin, 1908 (mosaic darner)

About the Figure:
Manufacturer: Yujin
Series: Insects of Japan Vol. 2
Year of Production: 2006
Size/Scale: Wingspan 11.0 cm. Body length 8.0 cm; within scale 1:1 (see below)
Frequency of species in toy/figure form (at time of posting): Very rare
Miscellaneous Notes: I could not find published information on the size of this species, but since the Insects of Japan figures are cast from actual specimens (or at least their bodies are), it can be assumed this figure is 1:1 in scale. Some assembly is required and the figure comes with a tall acrylic base (not shown) to elevate it as if flying. Kaiyodo made a much smaller version of this species for their Birdtales line.

About the Animal:
Geographic distribution: Japan
Habitat: Freshwater ponds and lakes
Diet: Nymphs feed on aquatic invertebrates, tadpoles, larval salamanders, small fish; adults feed on flying insects
IUCN Status (at time of posting): Not Evaluated
Miscellaneous Notes: I had a surprisingly challenging time researching information on this species; there is more literature on parasitoids that infect A. nigroflava or defense mechanisms by larval amphibians against the dragonfly, than there is on the dragonfly itself. From what I can tell, it appears to be a Japanese endemic.

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