Mathison Museum of Natural History

Species: Dynastes neptunus (Quensel, 1817)
Common name(s): Neptune beetle

About the Figure:
Manufacturer: Sega
Series: Mushi King - standard series, small
Year of Production: unknown
Size/Scale: Body length (including horns) approximately 6.0 cm for a scale of 1:2.6 for a large major male
Frequency of species in toy/figure form (at time of posting): Common
Miscellaneous Notes: This is our sixth look at D. neptunus in the Museum. The Sega 'small standard series' were 10 sets of 10 figures each, for a total of 100 figures representing 65-75 species of Lucanidae and dynastine Scarabaeidae. The dates of release are currently unknown to me (c. 2008). The figures were produced in conjunction with Bandai and came with Pokemon-style playing cards. At the time of this writing, I think I have all but two of the species. For a review of the sets, please see the overview by forum member Beetle guy here.

About the Animal:
Geographic distribution: Northern South America (Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Venezuela)
Habitat: Rainforests
Diet: Larvae feed in rotting wood within treeholes of living trees, including Alchornea (achotillo), Ocotea (cashiacara), and Urera (ortiguillo); adults feed on overripe fruit and sap flows.
IUCN Status (at time of posting): Not Evaluated
Miscellaneous Notes: Like many other large dynastine scarab beetle, D. neptunus is named after a character from Greek or Roman mythology, in this case Neptune, the Roman god of freshwater and the sea.

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An old acquaintance!

Species: Noctiluca scintillans (Macartney) Kofold & Swezy, 1921
Common name(s): sea tinkle; sea sparkle

About the Figure:
Manufacturer: Ikimon
Series: Science Techni Colour - Microorganism Acrylic Mascot
Year of Production: 2018
Size/Scale: Body approximately 3.5 cm in diameter for a scale of 175:1-17.5:1
Frequency of species in toy/figure form (at time of posting): Very rare
Miscellaneous Notes: This is the second time we've seen N. scintillans in the Museum! Figures in this set are essentially illustrations/photographs of microorganisms encased in acrylic. They were also sold as keychains (hence the hole in the clear part of the acrylic).

About the Animal:
Geographic distribution: Worldwide in tropical, subtropical, and temperate oceans
Habitat: Neritic; usually near the surface of the water along coasts and the mouths of rivers
Diet: The 'green form' is autotropic with the aid of the photosynthetic symbiotic eukaryote Pedinomonas noctiluca when present in its vacuole; the 'red form' is heterotrophic on other planktonic organisms, including phytoplankton, copepod eggs, naupilar larvae, and fish eggs
IUCN Status (at time of posting): Not Evaluated
Miscellaneous Notes: Noctiluca scintillans can be responsible for 'red tide', whereby an excessive population increase of an alga causes damage to the surrounding ecosystem. Noctiluca scintillans itself does not produced toxins, but the eventual decay of the algal blooms can result in significant ammonia production, resulting in a dramatic drop in the amount of dissolved oxygen in the water ultimately leading to stress, shock, and mass die-off of fish.

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Species: Julodis viridipes Lapore de Castelnau, 1835
Common name(s): brush jewel beetle

About the Figure:
Manufacturer: unknown
Series: unknown
Year of Production: unknown
Size/Scale: Body length approximately 4.0 cm for a scale of 1.8:1-1.1:1
Frequency of species in toy/figure form (at time of posting): Unique
Miscellaneous Notes: I don't know anything about this figure, including who made it or when it released. It is in the style of many of the figures from the 1990s. It was part of a set of exotic beetles I bought on eBay years ago. Some of the species are on the same Italian Beetles poster that was the influence for the Wing Mau beetles, but others are not. It was probably influenced from a popular book at the time, such as Art Evans' An Inordinate Fondness for Beetles.

The figure was clearly modeled after a member of the genus Julodis. There are a couple species with this basic form. None of them have pink but at least J. viridipes (syn. J. klugii) has a base color of blue. Ideally, the tufts of setae should be yellow to orange. Not something I would probably pursue today, but it's hard to turn down unique figures of interesting, exotic insects.

About the Animal:
Geographic distribution: South Africa
Habitat: Succulent Karoo
Diet: Larvae bore into stems of Zygophyllum foetidum; adults feed on the foliage of Didelta spinosa
IUCN Status (at time of posting): Not Evaluated
Miscellaneous Notes: Larvae of many members of the family Buprestidae burrow in dead/dying branches on otherwise healthy trees. Some are leaf and stem miners on herbaceous and woody plants and grasses while others are gall-makers. Larval development in the host plant can take anywhere from one to several years depending on the species.

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An example for that what i love and hate. A very unusual figure but all the rest is unknown. Who knows how many treasures there are.

Species: Megasoma elephas (Fabricius, 1775)
Common name(s): elephant beetle

About the Figure:
Manufacturer: Kabaya
Series: Insect Directory
Year of Production: unknown
Size/Scale: Body length (including cephalic horn) approximately 5.5 cm for a scale of 1:2-1:2.5 for large major male
Frequency of species in toy/figure form (at time of posting): Common
Miscellaneous Notes: This is our fourth look at M. elephas in the Museum. The insect is removable from its log base.

About the Animal:
Geographic distribution: Central America and northern South America
Habitat: Rainforests, plantations
Diet: Larvae feed on detritus in rotting logs and tree stumps, under bark, and in tree holes; adults feed on sap and overripe fruit
IUCN Status (at time of posting): Not Evaluated
Miscellaneous Notes: Megasoma elephas is active at night and is able to maintain a high internal temperature during the cooler ambient temperature during the night. This metabolic response is not associated with locomotion or any other overt activity. Warming is initiated when the body temperature reaches an apparent set point of 20-22°C. Unlike the case for euthermic birds and mammals, energy metabolism and body temperature in these beetles are conspicuously oscillatory, with a given cycle in oxygen consumption peaking before the corresponding cycle in body temperature.

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Beautiful model and picture!

Species: Lates japonicus Katayama & Taki, 1984
Common name(s): Japanese lates; Japanese barramundi; akame

About the Figure:
Manufacturer: Shikoku Aquarium
Series: Capsule Figure Collection
Year of Production: 2020
Size/Scale: Body length approximately 7.0 cm for a scale of 1:18.6 for a maximum-sized specimen
Frequency of species in toy/figure form (at time of posting): Rare
Miscellaneous Notes: This figure was produced by the Shikoku Aquarium in conjunction with an unknown manufacturer. When it was first announced, the assumption is that it was Kaiyodo, but it turned out not to have been. The fish is removable from its base. I am aware of four other figures of this species, all produced by Kaiyodo, two of which represent juveniles.

About the Animal:
Geographic distribution: Japan
Habitat: Coastal ocean and estuaries; juveniles migrate up freshwater rivers
Diet: Juveniles feed on zooplankton; adults feed on aquatic invertebrates and other fish (including their own species)
IUCN Status (at time of posting): Vulnerable
Miscellaneous Notes: Lates japonicus is endemic to the waters around Japan, specifically Tosa Bay in Kōchi Prefecture, Shikoku, and near Miyazaki City in Miyazaki Prefecture, Kyushu. Adults spawn in estuaries and surrounding ocean and juveniles migrate up the Shimanto and Ōyodo Rivers, respectively. The related barramundi (L. calcarifer) replaces it around the Ryukyu Islands and southward.

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wonderful model!

Shikoku Aquarium? What are the other figures?

widukind wrote:

Shikoku Aquarium? What are the other figures?

[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.] - here is a quick shot of the paper with the other species:

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Thank you :)

Species: Megasoma elephas (Fabricius, 1775)
Common name(s): elephant beetle

About the Figure:
Manufacturer: Sega
Series: Mushi King - large series, standard
Year of Production: unknown
Size/Scale: Body length (including cephalic horn) approximately 13.3 cm, within scale 1:1 for a large major male
Frequency of species in toy/figure form (at time of posting): Common
Miscellaneous Notes: This is our fifth look at M. elephas in the Museum and the second in three days; gotta love randomness! I cannot remember if assembly is required but it doesn't appear so. The inset shows the figure in my hand; it's a good way to demonstrate the mass of this life-sized insect!

About the Animal:
Geographic distribution: Central America and northern South America
Habitat: Rainforests, plantations
Diet: Larvae feed on detritus in rotting logs and tree stumps, under bark, and in tree holes; adults feed on sap and ripe fruit
IUCN Status (at time of posting): Not Evaluated
Miscellaneous Notes: Depending on the metrics used, M. elephas is one of the largest or bulkiest insects in the world. Males can reach nearly 14 centimeters in length (including the cephalic horn) and weigh 50-70 grams.

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Species: Hebomoia glaucippe (Linnaeus, 1758)
Common name(s): great orange-tip

About the Figure:
Manufacturer: Ikimon
Series: Science Techni Colour - Private Specimen of a Lepidopterist Acrylic Mascot 1
Year of Production: 2017
Size/Scale: Wingspan approximately 5.0 cm for a scale of 1.6:1-2:1
Frequency of species in toy/figure form (at time of posting): Uncommon
Miscellaneous Notes: This is the third time we've seen H. glaucippe in the Museum. Of the roughly 5-10 figures of adults of this species I have seen, this is the only one representing a male specimen. The figures in this series are essentially photographs of butterflies and moths embedded in acrylic. Flip the figure over and the underside reveals an image of the ventral side of the animal, too. They are also sold as keychains (hence the hole in the acrylic above the head).

About the Animal:
Geographic distribution: Central to Southeast Asia, southern Japan
Habitat: Highly variable, including rainforests, fields, grasslands, arid scrubland, disturbed areas.
Diet: Larval host plants include capers (Capparis, Crateva), and spider plants (Cleome); adults feed on nectar, with a preference for Lantana.
IUCN Status (at time of posting): Not Evaluated
Miscellaneous Notes: Hebomoia glaucippe is variable throughout its range due to a large number (upwards of 28) subspecies. They also vary based on wet-season or dry-season broods. In addition, the butterfly exhibits sexual dimorphism. Males (as seen here today) are dorsally predominantly white, with the characteristic brown-bordered orange tip to the front wings that gives this group of pierids their common name. Females are slightly darker (more dirty white dorsally) and have a dark border to the hind wings and a series of subtraingular dark brown to black spots running parallel to the border at the apices of veins 2-7.

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Species: Lepomis macrochirus Rafinesque, 1810
Common name(s): bluegill

About the Figure:
Manufacturer: Toy Fish Factory
Series: American Anglers
Year of Production: 2017
Size/Scale: Body length approximately 6.5 cm for a scale of 1:2.9-1:6.3
Frequency of species in toy/figure form (at time of posting): Very rare
Miscellaneous Notes: This sculpt was previously used for Replica Toy Fish's 3" Collection. Previous to that, the species had been produced by Yujin.

About the Animal:
Geographic distribution: Native to eastern North America in the St. Lawrence, Great Lakes, and Mississippi River systems; widely introduced throughout the rest of North America, Hawaii, Africa, Asia, South America, and Europe
Habitat: Freshwater lakes, reservoirs, slow-moving streams and rivers; usually in well-vegetated waters
Diet: Primarily freshwater invertebrates and small fish; occasionally algae
IUCN Status (at time of posting): Least Concern
Miscellaneous Notes: As a popular game fish, L. macrochirus has been widely introduced around the world. In some areas, it is causing negative effects on the local freshwater ecosystems and is now banned in some countries such as Germany and Japan. Bluegill can overcrowd and stunt the growth of native fish and feed on ecologically fragile freshwater invertebrates.

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Species: Copris ochus (Motschulsky, 1860)

About the Figure:
Manufacturer: Bandai
Series: Diversity of Life on Earth - Beetles Vol. 5
Year of Production: 2023
Size/Scale: Body length approximately 6.0 cm for a scale of 2.4:1
Frequency of species in toy/figure form (at time of posting): Unique
Miscellaneous Notes: Like other Diversity of Life on Earth Figures, assembly is required and the final product is large (although not as large as other DoLoE beetles), but it isn't articulated.

About the Animal:
Geographic distribution: East Russia (Primorskii), East and South China, Korean Peninsula, Japan
Habitat: Mixed broadleaf-coniferous forests, open woodlands, meadows and fields
Diet: Larvae and adults feed on dung, with a preference for horse and cattle dung
IUCN Status (at time of posting): Not Evaluated
Miscellaneous Notes: Copris ochus belongs to a group of dung beetles called 'tunnelers'. As opposed to dung beetles like Scarabaeus, which roll away pieces of dung some distance from where the dung was deposited, Copris species build tunnels in the soil directly under the dung pat where they construct brood balls from the dung.

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Species: Prosopocoilus confucius (Hope, 1842)

About the Figure:
Manufacturer: F-toys
Series: Insect Hunter Beetle and Stag Beetle
Year of Production: 2018
Size/Scale: Body length (including mandibles) approximately 7.3 cm for a scale of 1:1.5 for large major male
Frequency of species in toy/figure form (at time of posting): Very rare (see below)
Miscellaneous Notes: This is the second version of this species produced by F-toys; the first was a larger model in 2009 (which I don't possess). It's possible F-toys has released it again since 2018, since they have a tendency to reissue species and sculpts, but I am not sure as I stopped collecting their figures a few years back unless they represent new species. It has been proposed the Safari Ltd. Smithsonian Insects stag beetle also represents this species, as does the small Innovative Kids Groovy Tube Books figure which was clearly inspired by the Safari model.

About the Animal:
Geographic distribution: Central and Southeast Asia
Habitat: Tropical and subtropical hardwood forests
Diet: Larvae feed in rotten hardwoods; adults feed on tree sap
IUCN Status (at time of posting): Not Evaluated
Miscellaneous Notes: Prosopocoilus confucius is a fairly common species throughout much of its range and is popular with collectors and breeders.

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Species: Papilio glaucus Linnaeus, 1758
Common name(s): eastern tiger swallowtail

About the Figure:
Manufacturer: Toy Major
Series: Butterflies
Year of Production: 1996
Size/Scale: Wingspan approximately 6.5 cm for a scale of 1:1.4-1:2.5
Frequency of species in toy/figure form (at time of posting): Uncommon
Miscellaneous Notes: This is the second time we've seen P. glaucus in the Museum. The Toy Major butterflies are somewhat of an enigma. There are 12 sculpts, labeled A-L on the underside as well as the copyright year of 1996. Each sculpt has been painted multiple times, resulting in anywhere from 24-36 figures (maybe more?). Also, the different repaints may have been released over multiple years while retaining the 1996 mark. They were sold in sets of various numbers. They are not marketed at the species level, but most are painted to look like recognizable species (the identifications are mine or by other forum members). Today's figure could easily represent one of several similar Papilio species, but P. glaucus makes the most sense due to its familiarity. Several species produced by Toy Major have been produced by other companies of the same era (Club Earth, early Safari Ltd., etc.), as these companies tend to copy one another, and it is sometimes difficult to determine who came first. Today's is one example where the Toy Major toy figure is not painted like its Club Earth counterpart. Also, based on the blue spots along the margin of the hindwing, today's figure was painted after a female specimen.

About the Animal:
Geographic distribution: Eastern North America
Habitat: Deciduous woodlands, swamps, fields, roadsides, riparian areas, parks, gardens, urban and suburban areas
Diet: Larvae feed on a wide variety of plants; common host plants include Prunus serotina (wild black cherry), Fraxinus (ash), Magnolia virginiana (sweet bay), Persea palustrus (swamp bay), Liriodendron tulipifera (tuliptree). Adults take nectar from flowers.
IUCN Status (at time of posting): Not Evaluated (NatureServe status is Secure)
Miscellaneous Notes: Papilio glaucus exhibits some morphological variability. Males are always yellow with black stripes. Light females are yellow with black stripes and blue spots along the margin of the hind wings (as shown here today). Dark form females can be nearly black (although some striping may still be visible on the wings, ventrally if not dorsally). Even in the dark females, the blue spots are present along the margin of the hind wings.

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