Glitterback

A forest beetle prized for it's colourful carapace.

Basic Information

Anatomy

This beetle has six legs and a set of large mandibles. The legs and underside of the beetles are a matte black but it's upper carapace is made up of a myriad of colours. The colours on each beetle are unique though all seem to sparkle with an inner light. When the beetles enter their winter hibernation state theor upper carapace loses all colour and becomes the same dep black as the rest of the body.

Genetics and Reproduction

Glitterbacks lay eggs in the autumn before they enter their hibernation cycle. The eggs are laid in fallen branches, piles of leaves, or the remains of dead animals. Grubs hatch from eggs in spring feasting on the detritous. By mid summer the grubs which have gorged themselves sufficiently dig down into ground to build themselves a chamber in which they will undergo a metamorphasis into a beetle. The metamorphasis takes about 9 months with the new beetles emerging the next spring.
Grubs which don't consume enough during their first year miss their chance to become beetles and will remain as grubs for the rest of their existence. These grubs lose their taste for detritous and begin consuming live plants and trees.

Ecology and Habitats

These beetles live in deciduous woodland where they can mostly be found crawling around on the forest floor. Both the larval and adult forms are detrivores so will avoid anywhere where their food has been cleared away.
The beetles can only be found above ground during the warming months. In the winter they burrow down underground and enter a state of stasis while they wait for temperature to increase. While in this state the beetles are capable of surviving being frozen.

Additional Information

Uses, Products & Exploitation

The risk of glitterback grubs becoming treeworms has prompted the shorter lived species to treat them as a pest. The elves view this as typical shortsightedness from the lesser species and point out that if the short lived stopped clearing away the glitterbacks' foodsources they wouldn't have this problem. Among the Taurim glitterback shells are valued as a component for jewellry. Such shells are collected from the largest beetles during the summer months when the colours are at their most vibrant.

This was written to answer the Colourful prompt for Bestiary February. Other articles can be found in Tremanac Bestiary February.

Lifespan

4 years

Average Length

2 inches

While jewelry created from these shells is valued by the Taurim it is mostly looked down on as quaint and rustic by the Ostrim who largely prefer gemstones. Items which have survived serval millennia are the exception to thos rule and there are several pieces of gillterback jewelry in the royal treasuries.