Lepidopterans

Noctuoid has a variety of languages and dialects, however their languages cannot be replicated by humans, nor can human languages be replicated by Lepidopterans. Despite the inability to speak each others languages, scientists and scholars on both sides have learned to understand and read the languages; allowing information to be shared between the two species.

Lepidopteran physiology gives many of their languages clicking sounds and keening noises. However, it is their antenna, wings, and, in rarer languages, the release of pheromones that round out the languages on Noctuoid.

Entire communities communicate through a kind of sign language that involves not only their hands, but antenna and wings.

As the space industry grew on Noctuoid, they decided that a singular language would be used to communicate; this is similar to pre-modern humans adopting English as the standardized language for pilots on Terra. The standard language used by Lepidopterans for space travel is called Congrua.

Congrua was chosen to be the standard language for space travel because it is the most common spoken language on Noctuoid. Congrua was entered into the Galactic Codex as the official scientific language of Noctuoid.

Lepidopterans in positions that deal with off world species use a device that can be attached to the head to translate languages in real time. A new lexicon of Lepidopteran language has been evolving in real time with the use of this device, since the device cannot read wing or antenna movement.

Noctuoid, like many other space faring civilizations, has been victim to the Unity Effect. The Unity Effect was described by humans as the phenomenon of cultural and biological uniformity; as in a sentient species loses phenotype or cultural diversity. Lepidopterans maintained their biological diversities like wing patterns, body color, and eye color, but they began to lose their cultural diversity as they expanded into space travel.

To combatant this phenomenon, activist groups began projects to preserve and maintain cultural history, including languages, skill sets, religious practices, artifacts, and in some cases, entire cities.

Lepidopterans are herbivorous and nectarivorous by nature, feeding on leafy plants, fruit, and nectar. There is a significant industry on Noctuoid that is dedicated to the farming of edible plants and flowers. As Lepidopterans became larger the need to find supplement their diet, and eventually, their species evolved to be omnivorous, though their diet is mainly plant based.

The main diet of Lepidopteran children consists of raw plants, the diet can be supplemented with fabrics made from plant matter. Fabric, as humans understand it to be, has been a source of food for millennia; and as such, synthetic fabric had not been crafted on Noctuoid until they began their exploration of space. Fabric is woven into tight bricks that are easier for the young to eat. A Lepidopterans do eat animal products, but it usually is reserved for children who are deficient in macro-nutrients.

After the metamorphosis, nectar becomes a staple for Lepidopterans. The majority of their diet comes from nectar; though, adults also eat raw fruits, and animal products. Smoothies are one of the most common foods on Noctuoid. There are no mammalian like animals on Noctuoid, so any “milk” products are made from plants.

It is believed by Lepidopteran anthropologists that smoothie making allowed early Lepidopterans to condense and pack food into an easily eaten and digested drink was one of the driving forces to technological advancements in food preservation. This accumulated in Flower Bark, a dried smoothie that can be stored as flat, thin sheets.

Lepidopterans do not necessarily need to cook their food, as their mouths are able to chew through tough foods as children, and by the time the Lepidopteran is an adult, they consume a mostly liquid diet or easily chewed food. Any foods that are difficult to chew in their raw state are usually blended down to be more easily consumed.

The evolutionary shift of from an r strategy, quantity over quality, to a K stragety, quality over quantity, is a defining factor for sentient species. The shift for Lepidopterans occurred over millions of years. As Lepidopterans grew in size the fewer eggs they laid. Modern Lepidopterans lay as many as five eggs, though the average is two to three eggs at a time.

As the caring for young and familial units became prevalent from both an evolutionary and cultural standpoint birthing became a well celebrated moment of life.

For Lepidopterans, birth comes in three stages, the first is the egg being laid, the second is emerging from the egg, and the third is post metamorphosis. Some believe that true birth only happens when an individual emerges from a cocoon, while others believe that an individual is born from the egg. Several religious entities believe birth begins when the egg is laid.

As a whole Lepidopterans subscribe to the idea that all three stages are a form of birth, and while each stage is treated differently, they are all equally important from a cultural standpoint.

The laying of eggs is considered a highly personal moment, which is usually done under the supervision of doctors or midwives or a religious Matron. The laying of eggs is done in the home ideally, where the parents can monitor the eggs carefully, or in specifically designated locations. Such locations are nursing centers where there are staff who can monitor eggs. Along with nursing centers, there are religious establishments that do the same.

Prehistoric Lepidopterans laid their eggs on the foliage of gathered food, so the child may immediately eat. Their modern counterparts lay their eggs on clean, sterile mats in climate controlled areas. The eggs are monitored carefully, and the parents usually stay with the eggs in the final week or so of gestation.

During that time, the parents provide an abundance of food for their future children to eat. Entire families can be present for the birth from the eggs. This second stage of birth is usually accompanied by celebrations. These celebrations help build the infants immune systems.

Those who have religious beliefs usually feed the child food that has been blessed, and with the consumption of blessed food, are given a children’s name, and blessed by a religious Matron. There are many religions on Noctuoid, and these practices are similar, but varied.

The final birth comes as a coming of age rite for many, with few believing that the metamorphosis being the true birth. Coming of age rites generally include some kind of learning, usually involving weaving cocoons, family skills, or religious teachings, then the child weaves their cocoon.

When the individual emerges from the cocoon family and friends celebrate, the individual is blessed again, and given an adult name in which they choose.

Lepidopterans have a unique life cycle, starting from eggs, hatching into larvae, then they go through a cocoon metamorphosis to become an adolescent Lepidopteran. In human standards, the egg stage is the equivalent to human pregnancy. The larvae stage is the human equivalent to a child growing from infancy to about age ten. The cocoon stage is the human equivalent to puberty. This stage lasts upwards of six months. When the Lepidopteran emerges from the cocoon, they are considered a teenager in human standards.

The coming of age rites of Lepidopterans vary from culture to cutler, but the general consensus follows the same steps. The rite begins as a form of study. Young Lepidopterans might learn something as complex as performing religious rites or something like a family weaving technique.

Once the larvae begins to show signs of cocooning, the family throws a feast for the child; the food provided could be blessed, but more often than not in these modern times, high quality food is used over traditionally blessed food. Feasts can last hours or days, and all end in the larvae creating a cocoon in a safe location that their family can look over. Alternatively, there are government funded buildings where a Lepidopteran can safely go through their metamorphosis.

Lepidopterans are unique in the fact that every Lepidopteran goes through this metamorphosis; this universal coming of age rite is widely varied and has changed throughout the species long history. Some believe that the conclusion of the metamorphosis does make the Lepidopteran an adult, but this is generally followed by those who believe in the old religions. Modern Lepidopteran scientists have found that their brains do not fully develop until several years after the metamorphosis.

Lepidopteran historians believe the first cocoon burials to be one of the turning points in their sentient evolution. It is believed that early Lepidopterans used their ability to create their own silk with utility in mind; as the Lepidopterans began to create and use stone tools, and later metal tools, silk production became a sacred skill, used almost exclusively for rites of massage, positions of prestige, and funeral rites.

Shrouds are created by the silk of the deceased one’s loved ones. The deceased is carefully wrapped in the shroud before a spiritual Matron wraps them in their silk, which is blessed as she weaves a funeral cocoon. The cocoon is either created at the place of the burial, or it is brought to its final location once the Matron has finished weaving the cocoon.

Lepidopterans put their dead to rest in a variety of ways once the cocoon is weaved. Some cremate their dead others bury the dead in underground mausoleums; and these are only the most common ways Lepidopterans put their dead to rest.

Lepidopterans as a whole favor large, sleek bodies, with those of the nocturnal persuasion preferring thoraxes that are larger and oval-like, meanwhile, diurnal individuals favor a thorax that continues the sleek lines of the the rest of the body. Wing patterns have long been a cultural cornerstone for Lepidopterans. Diurnal individuals have long been known to value bright color gradients, bold contrast, and intricate patterns. Nocturnal individuals, however, value simplicity, minimalism, and patterns that mimic nature for their wings.

That being said, younger generations have been experimenting with “Wing Modding”. This practice involves removing their natural wing scales and replacing them in a way to create new patterns. In the more extreme circles of wing modding, wing scales are replaced with artificial scales that can create light shows.