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Melapi

Melapis are a race of fuzzy bee-like people native to the world of Hexahive. They are highly social and are well known for their highly efficient teamwork.   They are best known for their primary exports of Melapi Honey and Wax.

Basic Information

Anatomy

Melapis are covered in an exoskeleton, though they also have a partial lightweight internal skeleton to support their larger body. Their bodies are segmented, similar to regular bees, into 3 major segments: the head, thorax and abdomen.
  Their head is short and round, similar to Webi, though with their features sitting slightly lower. They have 2 large compound eyes on the front of their face, these extend slightly from their face, giving them an expanded field of vision. Sprouting from their forehead is a pair of antennas covered in olfactory receptors. They have a small mouth with human-like teeth, though missing the 2 central incisors that allow their 30cm long tongue to extend and retract unhindered. On their back is a pair of wings, they are fairly small, yet somehow still provide enough lift for short distance flight.
  Their central thorax hosts all 6 of their limbs, their 2 pairs of arms and a single pair of legs. Their limbs are segmented into 3 parts, the femur, tibia and hands/feet. Their 4 hands feature 3 grasping claws and a gland in the palm that can excrete honey, their feet are similar, though they lack the honey gland. At the centre of their thorax is a honey stomach that converts excess sugars from their diet into honey.
  Their abdomen has few external features, however, it contains a majority of their digestive system.
  Female Melapis are significantly larger than their male counterparts, along with having more prominent patterns.

Dietary Needs and Habits

A Melapi's diet consists mainly of honey, usually produced by themselves, and fruit farmed and gathered from around their world. They are capable of eating meat when more appropriate food is unavailable, though it provides little sustenance and doesn't leave enough sugar to generate any honey.

Additional Information

Social Structure

Melapi have a largely female-dominated social structure with the average woman being notably larger and stronger than their male counterpart, on top of massively outnumbering them with a female/male ratio of roughly 75/25. While men have the same opportunities as women, most end up looking to women for leadership, both in work and home life.

Uses, Products & Exploitation

Melapi produce a number of products similar to Earth bees most notably Honey and Wax. Their honey and wax are near identical to that of bees, only they are able to produce them in much higher quantities, able to produce about 750ml of honey in a week.

Melapi also produce Melapi Propolis, a highly effective adhesive formed from wax and tree resins, and Queen's Jelly, a powerful antibacterial and antifungal gel.

Facial characteristics

Melapi have a face similar to Webi, sporting a human-like basic structure though with larger eyes and no nose. They have a fairly small mouth with human-like teeth, though they are missing the central pair of incisors on both sets of teeth, this allows them to extend their 30cm tongue to extend and retract freely. They have a pair of antennae growing from their forehead, they are fully mobile and will move with the emotions of the individual.

Average Intelligence

Melapi are on par with other sapient races found in The Cutting Room Floor when it comes to intelligence. They tend to have a natural advantage for social skills and tactical problem-solving.

Perception and Sensory Capabilities

Melapis are capable of seeing well into the ultraviolet part of the light spectrum, however, they are unable to see colours towards the red end of the spectrum.
  They have an incredibly adept sense of smell, their antennae are covered in olfactory receptors that have them a roughly 100 times stronger sense of smell than humans.

Civilization and Culture

Naming Traditions

Most melapi names start with or contain prominent B, E or Z sounds these are the easiest sounds for them to pronounce.
Male
Female
Unisex
  • Basil
  • Buzz
  • Blake
  • Barree
  • Zeke
  • Zak
  • Bee
  • Becci
  • Bethanee
  • Zinnia
  • Zelda
  • Zoie
  • Bryn
  • Brook
  • Billee
  • Zan
  • Zee
  • Zeth

Average Technological Level

Melapi are generally on par with modern technology, a lot of which has been bought or gifted from their Webi neighbours. While their building methods are fairly basic, usually primarily using a combination of wood, wax and propolis, their houses are fully equipped with modern conveniences like running water, electricity and internet.

Major Language Groups and Dialects

Melapi, like most other species, speak in Interworld Basic. Their accent puts an emphesis on "B" and "Z" sounds, sometimes making their speach sound buzzy.

Common Dress Code

Melapis don't generally wear clothing, besides accessories, their fuzz is enough to keep them comfortable in most temperatures. If it is particularly cold or wet, they may put on some light clothing to protect them from the elements, though they'd usually prefer to huddle up inside.

Interspecies Relations and Assumptions

Webi

Webi are one of the closest allies of melapis, regularly working together on various works. Arachnarium, the webi's homeworld is located very close to Hexahive, allowing for easy trade and travel between the worlds. Many webi and melapis travel regularly between the worlds with a notable population living in each world.

Humans

Melapis don't tend to have much contact with humans outside of traveling to markets on other worlds, they are ill-suited to many human worlds so very few live amoung them.

Sky Folk

The Open Sky, the home world of Sky Folk is one of the most suitible human worlds for melapi due to it's clean air, though the strong winds often leave them grounded

Melapis get along with Sky Folk fairly well but interactions beyond the market are few and far between.

Burghers

Metroloplia, the homeworld of Burghers is near uninhabitable to melapis due to it's

low air quality interfering with their sensitive respitroy system. There have been improvements in recent years due to the shift towards electic vehicles and green energy but it is still dangerous.

They have next to no relationship with Burghers, rarely interacting with one another.

Soli Human

While Solis has clean air and plenty of greenary, few melapis visit, finding the cityscape overwhelming.

Melapis have a limited relationship with Soli humans, occasionally showing up to trade but little more.

Average Height
  • Female - 160cm
  • Male - 150cm
Body Tint, Colouring and Marking
  • Dark brown and orange-yellow striped body and fuzz
  • Light brown face and limbs
Related Materials

Related Articles

Melapi Honey
Material | Feb 5, 2019

A thick and sticky honey produced by Melapis

Hexahive
Geographic Location | Feb 12, 2019
Melapi Propolis
Material | Feb 2, 2019
Queen's Jelly
Material | Feb 2, 2019
Melapi Wax
Material | Feb 2, 2019
Honey Bread
Material | Feb 4, 2019

A dense bread made from a mix of pollen and Melapi Honey



Cover image: by RaptorBricks

Comments

Author's Notes

This article is currently queued up for being rewritten as several aspects of it have been retconned.


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