CMYKatydid (species)

Open species, make and trade them if you want, but you can't sell them for monetary value.

Real IRL Bug Facts (Katydids)

Katydids, also known as bush crickets, are insects in the family Tettigoniidae. They are largely nocturnal and camouflage in their environment, resembling leaves and other foliage. However, oblong-winged katydids are known for having a potential variety of colors, coming from a condition known as erythrism (a genetic mutation resulting in increased red pigment).

These are all true IRL things, I hope you enjoyed the bug facts! Katydids are cool! Now time for the bullshit facts about my OC species.

Fake Unreal Bug Facts (CMYKatydids)

CMYKatydids are the result of a bunch of katydids being sent to space to study them in a no-gravity environment, only for them to accidentally crash land on an alien planet and become the dominant species.

Fortunately, the foliage on this planet (known as Planet M5 to researchers) is largely pinks and yellows, meaning the mutation of erythrism was an advantageous one. As they became more dominant, they grew in size, intelligence, and gradually mutated to have much more mammalian features.

They are now relatively similar to humans in shape and size, with feet and hands that have five digits, and an internal skeleton (and fleshy skin!) rather than an exoskeleton. Their lifespan is slightly longer than a human's (around 100-120 years on average). Their blood is a yellowish green. They are hairless (aside from on the top of their head), tending towards builds with little in the way of body fat or muscle mass, although fat and/or muscular gain is not impossible, e.g. from genetic disorders or dedicated effort such as body building.

The hair they *do* have, which grows from the scalp and eyebrows in the same manner as humans, can exist in a variety of textures, and ranges  from shades of bright pink and orange (most common) to yellow (less common) and green (rare), and their skin and eye colors are the same range of colors with the same relative rarity.

They have antennae that serve as sensory organs that can detect vibrations, but which also serve as an extra layer of expression - they may droop when depressed, perk up when alert or surprised, et cetera. If injured, these will gradually grow back. Their length depends on genetics and can range from little stubby things to (very rarely) a few feet long, averaging about a foot.

They are omnivorous, with a preference toward fruits and other sweet things, and though they are perfectly capable of consuming meat, they typically don't see a need to - their cuisine is largely vegan in nature. They historically subsisted through foraging nuts, fruits, and vegetables. However, they have no real moral aversion to it, and will thus gladly sample foods from other cultures.

They have no reproductive organs or nipples, though they do have a navel: they hatch from eggs, and thus have a cord that connects them to the yolk sac while inside of said egg (birds and reptiles have this, too, that's another real fact! Though for birds and reptiles, the scar typically disappears a few weeks after birth). They have an anus from which all bodily waste expels. Other organs are largely analogous to a human's. They have small vestigial wings on their back.

There are no genetic sexes, though they may find they identify with various genders, including ones from other species' cultures (like humans). The only exception to this lack of genetic variation is the "queen" - a massive, terrifying creature some hundreds of feet tall, who has supposedly lived for hundreds of years and may live yet thousands more. She is covered in a hard exoskeleton, has large wings the length of her body, spends most of her time sleeping underground, and is deeply fearsome to witness in person, yet simultaneously described as having a personality that is "pretty chill". She is also entirely responsible for laying new young.

Eggs do not require fertilization, and are kept underground and guarded from predators by appointed protectors. After incubating for a few years, the young are around the size of a human 4-year-old upon hatching, with similar mobility and capacity for learning. Child-rearing duties are communal, with no traditional familial structure. One may become close to one's hatchmates (eggs that hatched around a similar time and were thus likely to be raised together), but the relationship is still less familiar than that of siblings, and closer to that of a classmate.

Names are technically optional but encouraged. One chooses their own name, and you can wait on that, though if you don't pick one for long enough others may start calling you some shit for ease of disambiguation - and whatever it is, it might stick, so watch out.

They currently have sophisticated and futuristic human-like societies, including the capacity for space travel. Settlements on Planet M5 are friendly and socialist in nature, with any needs met by the collective and the hoarding of wealth strongly looked down upon. Crime is scarcely heard of. Disabled individuals have their needs taken care of and are seen as a member of society like any other. Individuals have the capacity for romantic and sexual attraction and may pursue relationships, monogamous or polyamorous, with members of the same species or others.

Individual CMYKatydids may leave the planet to pursue lives, love, and careers elsewhere, but are welcome to return. Non-CMYKatydid visitors from offworld are not allowed on planet M5 unless you have someone to vouch for you; immigration is rarely allowed save for children and spouses.

A universal language is spoken, with regional dialects common in more rural areas. The language sounds vaguely like French with more consonants, mixed with occasional clicking and chittering vocalizations - as a result of said vocalizations, learning the language is rarely attempted by offworlders, though non-native immigrants such as lovers will occasionally try.