Common Name: Queen Elizabeth I Beetle
Scientific Name: Lucanus radialus Elizabeth
Specimen Length: 54mm
Specimen Sex: Female
First Described: AD 2098
Description and Habitat: Thought to have evolved in the woodlands of Chernobyl, Ukraine, the Queen Elizabeth I Beetle is a descendant of the European Stag Beetle, Lucanus cervus (extinct). No longer needing the distinctive stag horns to fight rival suitors, its mandible and mouth parts have all morphed into a ruff-like collar surrounding the central single eye, invoking Elizabethan fashion and hence this very specialized insect’s name. This unique structure has evolved for feeding, which it does by absorbing radiation through the very delicate membranes of the collar, which is then synthesized into glucose energy. Endemic to the vicinity in or around nuclear power plants, this beetle is often found facing the nuclear reactor itself, allowing for maximum absorption of any radiation being emitted. During feeding, the eye is protected by the surrounding six flaps that close tightly over it, rendering it blind for these extended periods of time which are often several hours in length. This unusual food source accounts for their excessive longevity (still undefined) and large size, especially as greater variations have been recorded in young specimens found living in close proximity to a reactor. Females are usually bigger than males, the largest ever recorded being 358mm in length, and have red feet.
Reproduction: Displaying radiation-dependent sex determination (RSD), the population ratio between male to female is approximately 1-5, and is probably the main reason males are relatively passive and comfortably exist in harem networks. Once mated, females return to the location where they emerged from their larval stage, and dig down into the soil to lay their small, round eggs in rotting wood, which take approximately four weeks to hatch.
Lifespan: Unknown.
