[COR - Era II - Callenge 1 - Cat. B 4] The Blackplate Beetle

[Darnok]

617, Day 5 of the 12th month, In the jungles of Celestia,

16 Days before the Winter Solstice

 

We are way out of Jameston now, and the environment is getting feral – I love it!

 

Jewel seems to feel well too. A day ago she insisted I stop calling her "Ms. Garnet". She still keeps pointing me towards all the things she knows from around Jameston, plant and animal alike, but I already notice that she knew less about the things seen today compared to last week. We are clearly heading towards areas more and more unknown to her. Just a few days ago we came across a type of beetle Jewel did not know. They seem to be a regular inhabitant of the deeper jungle, as they became a common sight over the next days, usually next to what seemed like a wild form of sugarcane.

For another letter to the Royal Society I described these beetles and their close environment in detail.

 

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To the Royal Society of Natural Philosophy,

 

from Reinhard Wolffson on Celestia,

 

about three weeks into my expedition east of Jameston we found a beetle like I have never seen before. It is about two inches long, of black colour, shining in bright sunlight, and its carapace is encrusted with lots of little bumps. Due to his colour and the fact that its crust is unusually sturdy, I named this species Scarabaeus Armanigrum, or Blackplate Beetle.

This beetles body structure is quite common, with three segments: caput, thorax and abdomen, while the latter two are a bit hard to distinguish due to the layered exoskeleton. There are two pairs of front legs, and one pair of hind legs, and there is a tiny stinglike appendix at the end of the abdomen; whether it is for self defense or a part of the reproductive organs, I was not able to find out yet.

While the Blackplate Beetle is a common sight in the deeper region of Celestias jungle, it can only be found on the ground, never on trees or bushes. Since I observed the Blackplate Beetle only near groups of a wild form of sugarcane, I assume it feeds mainly on it or its leaves. I can provide a couple of paintings of the beetle together with some of the leaves (the range ruler represents 3cm, with ten fractions of 3mm each):

 

The Blackplate Beetle has one very uncommon feature, which is a little inflatable organ at the underside of its head. I was able to observe its function: it seems to be used for the creation of a variety of sounds, ranging from continuous deep buzzing to repeated short high-pitched shrieks. What the deeper meaning of this is, I can not tell for now. If I had to speculate, I would assume it had something to do with mating rituals or territorial behaviour. I suggest further studies on this matter.

 

I want to warn the reader about the final part of this description, for it might disturb the more conservative persons out there.

 

I was able to catch a few Blackplate Beetles, roast them over open fire, and eat them. Their crust, as described above, is pretty sturdy, which leads to a crunchy experience when you bite into the roasted beetle. The taste is salty at first, coming from the crust, but quickly mixes with the mildly sweet and juicy inner parts. It is my belief that the sweetness of the inner parts is due to the Blackplate Beetles diet of the variety of sugarcane found in the deeper jungle.

I ate five of these beetles, and did not need further food for the next day! I urge the Royal Society of Natural Philosophy and the Crown to use this discovery to the best of its possibilities: just a single barrel full of Blackplate Beetles could feed the crew of a small ship for weeks. Imagine the possibilities!

 

It is not up to me to work out the implications of this discovery though. I remain a humble servant of the Crown.

 

Yours truly,

Reinhard Wolffson

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This post is my fourth entry for Category B of the Superb Orchid Challenge, in the subcategory "Fauna".

If you want to follow the surrounding story of Reinhards expedition on Celestia, have a look at this thread.

 

A few more neutral pictures of the beetle build:

Spoiler

 

As always, C&C is appreciated.

[Roadmonkeytj]

You seem to have uncanny tallent for insects

 

[blackdeathgr]

Hahahaha! Nice beetle!

[Maxim I]

Hahaha clever!!

The beetle is very spot on. The minifig MOC is hilarious and fits your characters perfectly

[Elostirion]

That beetle is amazing.