u/Black_Knight_Xander

Second bug, second swarm! I got this request from r/horse_decimator_9000 of all places.

Up next:

Male Polyphemus Moth

Giant Isopod

Scorpion of some kind

Fog Basking Beetle

Anyways, lore dump!

_________________________________________________

Penelope has been around human society even from the day she was still just a grub. Her grandparents had been in the Integration courses, and that knowledge had been passed down. Penelope knew the ins and outs, the inner workings of how things operated in Arthroposi quite comfortably.

Once, when she was young, her parents had brought her to a museum full of Arthroposi's history, ancient bugs trapped in amber millions of years old, pieces of literature and art made by both humans and bugs, countless pieces in a building as big as a large village, and was just about as old as the pieces contained within.

Penelope was fascinated by everything, even the very smell of it all, and returning there became something of a hobby for her. It should've been no surprise that when a position as a curator for it opened up, Penelope jumped at the chance to take it. For her, it was a dream come true to walk its halls ranting to tourists for hours on end about everything known about a particular exhibit.

While most tend to let her talk, those who aren't particularly keen in her passionate info dumps take care with their words as to not set her off on another one of her incessant prattling sessions. Those people, of course, know it comes from a good place of heart, it's just that she has a habit of endlessly talking until closure comes around, and they would like to make it out of the first few rooms by the day's end.

If it's knowledge on history is what you want, then Penelope the girl to go to, just make sure your schedule is open for the rest of the day, you'll likely be late otherwise.

I didn't really know what to choose to post for my obligatory meme before bug, so I pulled this from my big ass meme folder.

The first bug of the second swarm is almost complete and will be posted *soon,* but because it's meme Monday, you have to wait till tomorrow, lmao.

The bug is a Yellow Banded Bumblebee named Athena, who just so happens to be someone's OC! I *really* hope I manage to satisfy the requester.

Give me liberty, give me fire.

Give me anthropomorphic bugs or I RETIRE!!! 🗣🔥💯

Here it is, the first swarm. After long last, over the span of 3 whole months I drew 13 bugs, and am on the verge of finishing the 1st bug of the second swarm.

**Current list of completed bugs in order:**

Black Widow Spider

Western Honeybee

Amazonian Giant Centipede

Venezuelan Poodle Moth

European Praying Mantis

Himilayan Giant Honeybee

Sacred Scarab (Dung Beetle)

Angle Candle Firefly

Ebony Boghaunter Dragonfly

Violet Carpenter Bee

Comet Moth

Wasp Mimicking Moth

Rosy Maple Moth

**Current list of bugs for the second swarm**

Yellow Banded Bumblebee (who just so happens to be someone's OC)

Carpet Beetle

Polyphemus Moth

Giant Isopod

Having four bugs to work on already is pretty cool already, but four is not much of a swarm, now is it? I feel like I'm becoming a bit of a broken record, but I'll say it again. IF YOU HAVE A BUG THAT YOU REALLY LIKE AND WANT TO SEE DRAWN, PLEASE DO COMMENT IT BELOW! Preferably with its scientific name, shouldn't be too hard to find, gender, and a name for your bug.

Also *please* respond as soon as your able to, like when I'm giving a project report, after the Firefly Ghosting Incident I have become *extremely* paranoid about not getting replies. Hell, I even did a mock summoning ritual for the requester of the Rosy Maple Moth. I will literally hunt you down across platforms too, hell, I downloaded Tumblr specifically so I could try to achieve communication for the requester of the Wasp Mimicking Moth. (I had to go talk to one of their friends to finally be able to talk to them, I am one persistent bitch and will explore every avenue.)

Side note: As far as I'm concerned, insects aren't the only thing that are bugs. **Arachnids, centipedes, isopods, and basically every arthropod counts.**

So when I made the Mantis I drew her standing on the head and holding the arm because I thought it was sick as hell, not realizing the slight inconvenience it was going to cause me, but whatever.

# WARNING! BIG ASS YAP SESSION INBOUND!

Aaaaanyways... as you can probably tell, images 1 and 2 were made *way* before the rest, probably about a few months or so. I wanted to continue making more bugs because I thought it was fun, but I for some reason did not have the motivation to do so. That was until I made a post on Losercity about 3 months ago asking what bugs I should draw. Some of these bugs actually have a backstory to them, their own little lore. That applies mostly to the more recent ones, starting technically at Styx, but really kicking off at Bell. I have those backstories in the respective posts, I tend to write several paragraphs worth of text.

When I posted Periboia on Losercity and Loserutopia, I mentioned that I was going to drop the full compilation the following day. This was because I felt posting the compilation right after dropping a bug felt too karma-farmy to me, idk. However, I haven't posted a single bug on here, so you guys get to see the whole list early.

As for the second swarm? Well, so far it's a Yellow Banded Bumblebee (who just so happens to be someone's oc!), a Carpet Beetle, and a Polyphemus Moth. However, three is not much of a swarm, now is it? So if you have a particular bug you just so happens to love, you're more than welcome to drop the name in the comments, preferably also with the scientific name, and whatever gender and name you want.

Oh, and this might sound weird, but *please* respond if I give you a progress report or whatever. Y'see, when I was working on the Firefly, the requester never responded, even when I finished, and when I saw them in *another* subreddit's comment section, by chance also happening to **be on my post there,** and I told them I was finished, they said "Oh cool, I'll go take a look" and then just straight up ghosted me. I became kinda paranoid after that. Hell, when I did the whole cycle with Periboia, I did a whole ass mock summoning ritual because I was worried they wouldn't see my reply.

Side note: You can actually see me improving. When I made Bell the requester mentioned bees actually have four wings, which is something I hadn't noticed before, and which led me to discover basically all bugs have four wings, so that's something I made sure to include. Also, technically most insects have 5 eyes, the two big obvious ones, and three small ocelli, but I only included them on the Mantise and Dragonfly because I felt it fit them better. And yes the eyes having no pupils or irises is supposed to represent the whole compound eye thing.

Side side note: I'm also shocked I didn't get a single butterfly, or spider (I made Naomi Dectra for myself), or wasp. Definitely wasn't surprised by the four moths and 2 bees I got. did get a few unique ones, like a Centipede and a Firefly, plus a Dung Beetle. Never thought anyone would request a Dung Beetle.

Full list of completed bugs so far:

Black Widow, Western Honeybee, Amazonian Giant Centipede, Venezuelan Poodle Moth, European Praying Mantis Himilayan Giant Honeybee, Sacred Scarab (Dung Beetle), Angle Candle Firefly, Ebony Boghaunter Dragonfly, Violet Carpenter Bee, Comet Moth, Wasp Mimicking Moth, Rosy Maple Moth.

List of upcoming bugs:

Yellow Banded Bumblebee, Carpet Beetle, Polyphemus Moth, Giant Isopod.

Anyways, yap session over, I'm sure I made a typo somewhere in this, but whatever.

At long last, the first swarm has been completed! Absolutely amazing! I'll drop the full compilation in a post tomorrow.

As for the second swarm, expect to see a Yellow Banded Bumblebee (who just so happens to be someone's oc!), a Carpet Beetle, and a Polyphemus Moth! And I can't stress this enough, and I'll keep repeating, if you have a bug you want drawn, then please drop it in the comments, preferably with its scientific name too, shouldn't be too hard to find.

Also, I really like the Rosy Maple Moths scientific name too. Dryocampa Rubicunda. Really fun to say. But without further ado, lore time!

____________________________________________________

Despite her glorious and extravagant life she leads now, Periboia was once a commoner in some backwater town nobody could point out on a map. As she grew up, she often read magazines and examined posters about celebrities living the high life, and Periboia was enamored by their fame.

But something stuck out to her. It occurred to her one day that she couldn't find any other bugs in these magazines and posters, instead they were human dominated no matter where she looked. Then a thought had seeded in her mind, and began to take root. Periboia had been born bearing a striking yellow and pink color pattern, the type that draws attention. Sure there might have not been any bug celebrities at that moment, but Periboia decided it's been long enough, and that it's time to fix that.

After that day she began working hard and adhering to a single principle she repeated both mentally and verbally to herself every day: "You need to make heads turn and jaws drop, and if your worst enemy isn't on their hands and knees begging for your autograph, you're doing it wrong."

That motto had engraved itself not just in her mind, but her very being. It fueled the confidence and swagger that accompanied her every step, her every action, her every word. She constantly one ups herself every time, at every turn, taking risks, and either by fate or fortune, striking true every time.

"Sure they may have been born with good looks, but so have I, and unfortunately for them, I'm novel, and not restrained by human limitations. You might be able to dazzle the crowd with expensive makeup or jewelry or dresses, but I look this way naturally, and you'll be hard-pressed to find a way to compete with that."

-Periboia

At long last, the first swarm has been completed! Absolutely amazing! I'll drop the full compilation in a post tomorrow.

As for the second swarm, expect to see a Yellow Banded Bumblebee (who just so happens to be someone's oc!), a Carpet Beetle, and a Polyphemus Moth! And I can't stress this enough, and I'll keep repeating, if you have a bug you want drawn, then please drop it in the comments, preferably with its scientific name too, shouldn't be too hard to find.

Also, I really like the Rosy Maple Moths scientific name too. Dryocampa Rubicunda. Really fun to say. But without further ado, lore time!

____________________________________________________

Despite her glorious and extravagant life she leads now, Periboia was once a commoner in some backwater town nobody could point out on a map. As she grew up, she often read magazines and examined posters about celebrities living the high life, and Periboia was enamored by their fame.

But something stuck out to her. It occurred to her one day that she couldn't find any other bugs in these magazines and posters, instead they were human dominated no matter where she looked. Then a thought had seeded in her mind, and began to take root. Periboia had been born bearing a striking yellow and pink color pattern, the type that draws attention. Sure there might have not been any bug celebrities at that moment, but Periboia decided it's been long enough, and that it's time to fix that.

After that day she began working hard and adhering to a single principle she repeated both mentally and verbally to herself every day: "You need to make heads turn and jaws drop, and if your worst enemy isn't on their hands and knees begging for your autograph, you're doing it wrong."

That motto had engraved itself not just in her mind, but her very being. It fueled the confidence and swagger that accompanied her every step, her every action, her every word. She constantly one ups herself every time, at every turn, taking risks, and either by fate or fortune, striking true every time.

"Sure they may have been born with good looks, but so have I, and unfortunately for them, I'm novel, and not restrained by human limitations. You might be able to dazzle the crowd with expensive makeup or jewelry or dresses, but I look this way naturally, and you'll be hard-pressed to find a way to compete with that."

-Periboia