Lumberjack Beetle

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Heaven Above. Haven Below.

This content takes place in the Haven setting of Imagindarium's Creation.

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Index / Lexica / Timeline

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"Yeah, they tend to get a bit cranky at times. Just chuck ‘em a piece of fruit and they’ll be fine."

—Rufus, sawmill foreman

The Lumberjack Beetle, also referred to as the Axe Bug and Chopper Bug, is a large beetle found in forested regions all over Haven. Equipped with an axe-like horn that it uses to chop down trees, the Lumberjack Beetle is one of nature’s workhorses. Its utility has led it to be used as one of Haven’s most ubiquitous work animals.

Characteristics

Appearance

The Lumberjack Beetle is similar in appearance to many other horned beetles, except it is as large as a medium-sized dog. It is covered in a tough exoskeleton that gives it a fair amount of protection against most forest predators. It has a pair of wings under its shell, though it is a pretty clumsy flier. As a result, it spends most of its time on the ground, strolling through its home on six powerful legs.

The Lumberjack Beetle’s most noticeable feature is it’s large horn, shaped like a double-bladed woodcutter’s axe. Only the males have this horn, the female beetles possessing none at all. It uses this horn to chop down trees in search of delicious fruit, though it can also be used as a way to fend off predators or to compete with other male beetles for mates.

Biology

The Lumberjack Beetle’s horn is very strong, much stronger than the average woodcutter’s axe. However, its horn does dull over time with repeated usage. To resharpen it, the Lumberjack Beetle will rub its horn against smooth stones, sharpening their horns for up to an hour if needed. If the horn is broken in any way, then it will slowly heal over time. However, a Lumberjack Beetle with a broken or sometimes completely missing horn tends to fall prey to much larger creatures.

Lumberjack Beetles are notorious gluttons, eating large amounts of food in a single day. However, they lack the gripping claws on their feet that allow most other insects to climb so well. As such, they simply chop down any fruit trees they come across, though this often angers any creatures who might be dwelling in said trees. As female Lumberjack Beetles lack the ability to chop down trees, they simply scavenge the forest floor for any plant matter they can find.

When Lumberjack Beetles mate, the female lays up to several dozen eggs at once, taking up to several weeks to hatch. Once hatched, the larvae burrow their way deep underground, sucking nutrients from the roots of plants. After a few years, the larvae will pupate, cocooning themselves for up to six months as they mature. Once the pupal stage is finished, the adult Lumberjack Beetle will burst from the ground, immediately searching for the next thing to eat.

Behavior

The Lumberjack Beetle is normally a docile creature, going about its business unless provoked. When it is threatened, it uses its powerful horn to great effect, hacking and slashing at anything in its way. Despite not having a horn, the female Lumberjack Beetles can still hold their own in combat, ramming into their opponents by using their wings to propel themselves forwards at surprisingly fast speeds.

When a Lumberjack Beetle is searching for food, it walks up to a tree and makes a gash in it with its horn. Next, it tastes the tree’s sap to make sure that it is indeed a fruit tree. If it isn’t one, then it leaves the tree alone. This behavior, combined with the fact that male Lumberjack Beetles are somewhat rare compared to the females, prevents them from completely deforesting their habitats.

When a Lumberjack Beetle goes too long without food, it becomes highly aggressive, attacking almost any creature in sight. However, they are quickly calmed down once fed, meaning that all one has to do in order to deal with an angry Lumberjack Beetle is to toss it some food. This has saved many travelers from being chopped to pieces.

Trained Lumberjack Beetles

Thanks to their natural affinity for cutting down trees, many lumber companies across Haven have made use of the Lumberjack Beetle. However, taming one is a lengthy and arduous process, meaning that many lumber companies usually only have one or a few beetles on hand. Once an adult male is found, it is led into a cage via the use of a food trail and brought to its new home.

Since the Lumberjack Beetle only naturally swings at fruit trees, it must be taught how to cut up large pieces of lumber. To achieve this, many lumberjacks first create a fake fruit tree by attaching multiple pieces of fruit to a log, with the fruits falling off one by one for every swing the beetle takes. By doing this, they reward the beetle for its work, giving it more food as it progresses to chopping down non-fruit trees. Once the training is complete, the lumberjacks will have a reliable work partner, so long as they can keep it fed.

Notable Individuals

TBA*Scope: Imagindarium