Insectoid Physiology
The insectoids of Varzzen are uniquely different from most fantasy humanoid species because of one key trait: their insect nature. It is important to note that while insectoids resemble insects, they are a separate species from the six-legged critters. Insectoids differ from common insects in their upright posture, their number of limbs, and their respiratory system. However, these features are incorporated into their body plan in such a unique way that they experience the world very differently from ordinary fantasy species. This gives them a physiology very alien to that of humans.
Exoskeleton and Muscles
The most striking feature of any insectoid is its exoskeleton. Like their smaller cousins, their interiors are shielded in an exoskeleton primarily made of chitin. Internal strips of cartilage support their chitinous exoskeleton, making it lighter and thinner where needed while providing essential structural support. However, not all parts of their bodies are armored. At their joints, insectoids are covered with leathery skin instead of chitin, allowing greater mobility.
Insectoids lack an internal skeleton. Like their smaller relatives, they have an exoskeleton mainly made of chitin. Internal strips of cartilage support their chitinous exoskeleton, making it lighter and thinner where needed while providing essential structural support. However, not all parts of their bodies are armored. At their joints, insectoids are covered with leathery skin instead of chitin, allowing for greater mobility.
The thickest strip of cartilage is the Spinal Strip, which runs along the back of the thorax and functions similarly to spines in mammals. It protects the central nerve cord and serves as the primary anchor for the organ systems and powerful muscles of the thorax. It also contains the stretched-out tubular heart of the insectoids. Other strips run through the arms and legs to connect and support their muscles. Muscles and fat are hidden beneath the exoskeleton, making different physiques hard to tell apart. As such, the quality of the chitin, including its healthy sheen, vibrant color, and lack of stress fractures in the exoskeleton, is a signal of health and a good diet.
Molting and Healing
As insectoids grow, they go through molting phases. Molting is the process of shedding old chitin and growing new one. Molting is observed at a much higher frequency during growing periods at young ages. It requires a lot of energy, so before a molting period, most insectoids tend to eat a lot more. That is why children often also eat parts of their shed chitin to restore nutrients. Molting is also the way wounds to their exoskeleton heal. Similar to scars in mammals, deep cracks or chips in the chitin cause permanent damage, recording an individual’s history and battles.
The Body Plan
Insectoids are humanoid creatures. They walk upright, have at least two arms and two legs. Their bodies are generally segmented into three parts: the head, thorax, and abdomen.
The Head
The head of an insectoid is its sensory and consumption center. It contains the brain, as well as the eyes, earholes, and antennae through which the insectoids perceive the world. The head also contains the insectoid’s mouth, giving access to its digestive system.
Seeing, Hearing, and Smelling
Many insectoids have at least two antennae on the top of their head. These sensory organs help with hearing by picking up slight changes in air pressure. This makes insectoids sensitive to low-frequency sounds and vibrations. They “hear” heavy footsteps or the whoosh of a swinging axe through the air before they see it. On the sides of the head lie dedicated ear-holes that handle higher-frequency sounds and direction.
The antennae are also the primary organ of smell for insectoids. Due to a lack of significant facial features that convey emotion, many insectoids have evolved pheromones that act as a chemical language. Their antennae allow them to instantly recognize an individual’s identity, mood, social status, and health just by scent. It is also these antennae that tend to deteriorate with age. A healthy, young individual has better-functioning antennae, while older or sick individuals experience their sense of smell and hearing to decline.
The compound eyes of insectoids allow for a very different view of the world from mammals. They have an incredibly wide field of view and an exceptional ability to detect movement. Insectoids can also see polarized light and into the ultraviolet spectrum, which opens up a whole new sensory world of patterns on flowers, trails, and other insectoids that are invisible to mammals. However, their compound eyes also have lower resolution or acuity, making it difficult to focus on distant, static objects.
The Mouth
The mouths of insectoids have no lips or teeth and come in a multitude of different shapes, uniquely adapted for their preferred diet. Most insectoids, like the vespoids or necrites, are equipped with mandibles. As such, these insectoids are limited to food they can tear, crush, or cut into manageable chunks. Larger, outer mandibles provide the brute force, while inner ones manipulate food together with their tongue, which holds sensory organs for taste.
There are also insectoids, like the luni, that have a proboscis—a long tube used for sucking up liquids. These insectoids cannot eat large chunks of solid food. Instead, their diets often consist of soups, stews, or pre-ground meals. muscans commonly spit onto their food to liquefy it before eating. Their spit contains digestive enzymes that break down their meal into a slurry, which they then consume by sucking it up through their mouth.
The Thorax
The thorax is the body's powerhouse. All limbs, including potential wings, connect to it. It contains muscles for movement and protects vital organs. The thorax also has breathing openings used to draw in air. Due to their segmented body structure, the thorax can actually rotate almost 90 degrees, allowing for significant flexibility.
Breathing and the Respiratory System
The heart of insectoids is encased in the spinal strip and goes along its entire length. Their lungs are also elongated and sit outside of the spinal strip in the thorax, directly connected to the spine. The heart pumps blood from the veins at the bottom, oxygenates it during the trip through the lungs, and expels oxygenated blood into the arteries at the top.
Insectoids do not breathe through their head. Instead, they have breathing holes, called thoracic spiracles, on either side of their thorax. These are a pair or several pairs of slits, protected by fine bristles to filter out dust and debris. Muscular valves allow them to close these slits, essentially holding their breath. This also allows insectoids to dive underwater.
Since insectoids do not breathe through their mouths, they also do not have vocal cords in their throats. They generate sounds through a specialized organ near the spiracles that vibrates as air is expelled. Shouting is accompanied by a visible expulsion of air from their sides. It is common that the organs of different spiracles produce different octaves of sound. This allows them to produce an overlap of sounds used in their speech, instead of sounds produced by lips or flexible tissue, which they lack.
The blood of insectoids is iron-based, very similar to the hemoglobin found in mammals. Their blood has a dichroic (two-colored) pigment. In dilute concentrations, like when smeared thin, it appears light green. In concentrated solutions, like pooled blood from a deep wound, it appears pale red. As such, the color of blood pouring from a wound is very indicative of its severity: minor cuts ooze green, while major injuries bleed red.
Limbs
All insectoids have at least four limbs—two legs and two arms—directly attached to the thorax. The joints of these limbs allow for flexibility similar to that of humans. Some insectoids, like the beetlefolk, have two additional smaller arms. This second pair is generally weaker in muscle strength compared to the main pair.
Most arms of insectoids end in four-fingered hands. These are also encased in chitin, reducing their touch-sensitivity. While their hands can detect heat and cold and distinguish rough from soft surfaces, most differences in textures are lost on an insectoid.
The Abdomen
The abdomen houses most of the digestive tract, reproductive organs, and waste excretion system. It is slightly more flexible than the thorax, with more distinct segments, allowing for movement and expansion.
Pheromones
Insectoids that evolved pheromonal languages produce these scents from specialized organs in their abdomen. These organs allow for great control over the amount, the specific scent, and the timing of pheromone release, but this must be learned. Similar to how humans must learn to control their mouth movements to produce different sounds, insectoids need to learn to control their pheromonal glands to produce specific scents.
However, even the most eloquent insectoid can’t control every release of their pheromonal scent. Most of the releases are unconscious and indicate the insectoid’s mood to other people. This is the main way to differentiate whether an insectoid is happy or sad, or if an outburst was joyful or a fit of rage.
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