Japanese armour and minibeasts - section B
The Hart’s Tongue Fern (Asplenium scolopendrium) is a common wild plant across Europe. There are many varieties with fancy, frilled leaves that are grown in gardens. As they do not have flowers they are not visited by pollinating insects, and slugs and snails are the most likely animals to eat it’s leaves.
Praying Mantis (Stagmaroptera pia), native to South America.
Giant Dead Leaf Mantis (Deroplatys desiccata), native to South-East Asia. Can be kept as a pet. Read more here.
Praying Mantis (Pseudovates paraensis), native to Central and South Americas.
A handguard (tsuba) for a Japanese sword (katana), circular in shape, with fern leaves and a praying mantis. Handguard protects the hand of the sword owner from sliding into the blade and from an attack by an enemy, also helps to balance the sword. Japan, 19th century. See video about trsuba here, and read more here.
Monster Mantis (Archimantis monstrosa), native to northern Australia; can reach nine or more cm in length.
Bronze model of praying mantis with articulated legs and wings. Japan, 19th century.
Manchester Museum.
Dead Leaf Mantis (Deroplatys lobata), native to South-East Asia. It is a cryptic species occurring on the ground around dead leaves and bushes in damp areas. The species is easily bred in captivity; read more about this here.
Chinese Mantis (Tenodera sinensis), native to Japan, eastern China and the nearby islands; also introduced to the USA. Tis species is bred for commercial purposes and used for the biocontrol of such insect pests, as aphids, leafhoppers, and mosquitoes. See here for more information.
Regal Pond Cruiser (Epophthalmia elegans), and endangered dragonfly species native to wetlands of eastern Asia (the Russian Fra East and China); continue to decline due to decreasing habitat quality.
This grass (Panicum species) is a relative of millet. Grasses contain microscopic crystals of silica (glass) to defend themselves from grazing animals – including insects like grasshoppers and caterpillars. Plants full of silica are more difficult to eat and digest. Read more here.
Filigree Skimmer (Pseudoleon superbus), native to Central America and southern regions of the USA; found along streams, flying or perching on rocks.
Emperor Dragonfly (Anax imperator), the largest European dragonfly. It is a common species mainly associated with large, well-vegetated ponds and lakes. Read more here and here.
Fulvous Forest Skipper (Neurothemis fulvia), native to South and South-East Asia; male with brown wings, female with yellowish wings. It is a dragonfly of wet forests, usually perches on fallen logs and shrubs. One of the dragonfly species featuring on stamps in Vietnam and Malaysia. See here for images of live specimens.
A handguard known as a tsuba for a Japanese sword (katana). It is mokko-shaped, with four lobes, and made of metal. It has a raised rim that is decorated with two dragonflies and two butterflies, one on each leaf. The face of the tsuba is decorated with different plants carved in relief, on a stippled background. Handguard protects the hand of the sword owner from sliding into the blade and from an attack by an enemy, also helps to balance the sword. Japan, 19th century. Read more here.
Manchester Museum, T.1885
Broad-bodied Chaser (Libellula depressa), a common dragonfly in Europe and Central Asia. Read more here and here.
Labelled as Japanese Pinks (Dianthus species), these flowers were picked from a garden in 1910. This looks very like the flower on the handguard (object number 15), with five, frilly petals. Pinks attract pollinators with their strong scent. Read more here.