Ice Beetle (WIP)

Beetle

On [this world], blizzards also drop beetle eggs (see [TK link] for why), which hatch about a day after freezing (as they do covered in the blizzard's snow) into large, crystalline beetles that lurk underneath the snow looking for anything warm they can find.

Clear body, white head

[TK needs research]

• Weave in some kind of nerdy lattice crystalline structure, just to get some biology/chemistry knowledge that 1. delights people who like that kind of science, and 2. makes the beetle feel more "real" by tying it to some real-world science




• Could have them get more efficient at everything (e.g. "superhuman" versions) as their genetic structure gets closer to a perfect lattice, to weave in some fun genetic algorithms knowledge.

This beetle dips its two front arms in liquid water and then holds them straight out until the water freezes into a sickle shape, which can be used to burrow with or attack prey. If the frozen weapon thaws or chips too much, they immediately renew it with fresh water.

Also notably (and, similarly), this beetle can emit approximately 500Mfk of heat directed downward from the center of its body for a short duration of time. It uses this "heater" to melt just enough nearby snow whenever it's thirsty or needs to refresh its frozen weaponry.

Can range from very small (about the size of a grain of rice) to very large (about the size of a full-grown rat).

Only ever aggressive in the presence of heat, at which point becomes extremely aggressive and suffers from a literal 0.1mm of tunnel-vision.

Using frozen appendages made by intentionally freezing drips of water (off its arms) into particular shapes, this beetle often uses them to puncture their prey. After the prey is dead, the ice melts and softens the nearby carapace/skin; this often opens up a vector toward the deepest innards of its prey, which this beetle greatly prefer when eating.

To that end, Ice Beetles are also extremely fast soft-tissue eaters and burrowers (which is admittedly not surprising, since they use the same mandibles).

[TK is mandibles the right word here?]

Since heat is a scarce resource, these beetles are generally loners and prefer not to be around others. However, the heat emitted from each beetle's body when they melt snow is enough to let each other beetle nearby know where they are: the beetles like to keep their competitors close so they can rush in to steal any warmth they happen to find.

Occasionally, snow beetles have been known to heatscavenge in groups of 2, sharing space equally in the heat source(s) they find.

Only needs water to survive. Eats snow while burrowing through snow.

Snow / blizzard settings

Reproduction is done through poop

The Ice Beetle rarely lives long enough to go far after a blizzard, but are perpetually looking for any heat, anywhere, and have been known to chase a running mouse for 25 miles before dying itself.

Their excrement contains a copy of their DNA implanted onto some mixture of minerals that have a small chance to create life (another Ice Beetle) when rejoining in the presence all parts (e.g. some poops might have Chemical A, some have Chemical B, and some have Chemical C & D). As the snow melts and the water evaporates, these chemicals are carried up into the sky and die shortly after, unless they remain to be in a snowy atmosphere.

Eggs fall on snowflakes, where they are then buried and begin their hatching process. Sometimes eggs will be in the air when a blizzard forms, where they fall down in much greater quantities and in a higher-frequency of in-storm reproduction cycles (resulting in much larger populations)..

Cousin to Egypt's Scarabs of Way Back Yonder