Wheelybug

Wheelybugs are a species of freshwater insect inhabiting ponds and slow-moving rivers across Greenerth. They are a vital species for freshwater ecosystems, as they keep levels of algae down as well as provide food for larger predators.

Anatomy

Wheelybugs don't reach more than an inch in length. They have a green, marble-like pattern on their elytra and chitin-covered bodies. Adult wheelybugs have six legs, four relatively insignificant while their hind legs are extremely wide and spin a 360 degree motion. These insects have triangular heads with two large compound eyes and a triangular mouth part used for feeding on algae.

Adolescent wheelybugs are unrecognisable, as many thousands of eggs are laid into larger animals to hatch and these babies are no more than a micrometre in length just after hatching. Baby wheelybugs are completely black and only have to legs to keep them moving in the water.

Reproduction & Growth

Female wheelybugs will lay up to a hundred thousand eggs on their backs, which are fertilised by males. The females will sacrifice themselves by swimming up to a predatory animals to voluntarily be eaten. The eggs are coated in a protective film that stops them from being digested, and the eggs hatch inside the host's stomach.

Once hatched, the babies will spend about a week of their life inside the host, consuming whatever food arrives in the stomach. Once a week has passed, the babies will form a cocoon and leave the host as faeces, ready to emerge as a fully grown wheelybug.

Diet

Wheelybugs are herbivorous, consuming a diet of algae and whatever plants are found in their natural habitat. Wheelybugs are extremely valuable in many places on the planet, as they are mostly responsible for the control of invasive algae and other plants. Wheelybugs are so vital that they became the mascot for the Sietu Pond Society, an organisation advocating for better water resources in Sietu, an Espyan Province.

Lifespan

3 weeks

Average Length

1 inch

Geographic Distribution

• Aekor
• Frost Lands
• Greenerth
• Region of Sarra
• Trecath
• Tropics

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