Beetle

Beetles were insects found in many places and variations on Toril, often in giant sizes.
==Biology==
Most species of beetle lacked good eyesight or hearing. Because of this, they primarily relied upon their tactile and taste senses. The latter was done by means of their antennae.
==Species==
* Aratha, otherwise known as "killer beetles," were a rare species of psionic beetle that had been hunted to near-extinction.
* Bark beetles were a mundane species of beetle found in the forests of Cormanthor. They were known to burrow underneath the bark of trees and treants to lay their eggs inside.
* Carrion beetle
* Crimson Lake beetle, a species of mundane beetles that were endemic to the Great Anauroch.
* Deathmirror beetle
* Dung beetles, a species of mundane beetles, often used as derogatory insult.
* Emperor beetles were an extremely rare species of giant beetle, prized for their iridescent shells.
* Giant bombardier beetles were able to emit an acid cloud that burned enemies.
* Giant boring beetles were large and favored eating wood.
* Giant fire beetles were about nocturnal insects. They had two glands, one above each eye, that produced a red glow.
* Giant rhinoceros beetles were a monstrous variety of rhinoceros beetle, typically found in tropical or subtropical jungles.
* Giant scarab beetles, which could be up to long, were found in many locations in the Underdark.
* Giant stag beetles were a monstrous variety of stag beetles.
* Giant water beetles were a species of giant beetle that moved swiftly in water and struggled to move on dry land.
* Goldbugs, a parasitic species endemic to Zakhara that resembled the gold coins found in that land.
* Shrub beetles, a mundane species of beetle found in Cormanthor. They were known for jumping into the River Ashaba to cool off, but often sank and drowned in the process.
* Slicer beetles were a rare species of giant beetle that bore a resemblance to the giant stag species, but were distant relatives of death watch beetles.
* Stink beetles could produce miasmal stench in self-defense.
* Swamp beetles were a species of giant beetles found in the Mere of Dead Men on the Sword Coast.
* Tangler beetles were a species of giant beetle notable for their adhesive saliva.
* Water beetle
* Weevils were mundane pests that fed on grains and flours.
* Yahcha was a species of edible beetle that possessed curative properties against blue mist fever, found in the jungles of Chult.
==Ecology==
===Diet===
In general, these creatures were liable to eat almost any form of organic matter tasted by their antennae, even other species of beetle. Each species tended to have dietary preferences. Those that lived in the Underdark were often fungivores.
Giant beetles ground and crushed whatever they ate with their mandibles, making it difficult to revive consumed organisms.
===Habitats===
Shrub beetles were found in Cormanthor. Bombardier, boring, fore, and stag beetles were typically found in midwood. A wide variety of giant beetles could be found in the Underdark. 
Aggressive carnivorous giant beetles could be found within upper layers of Undermountain, notably, in the Garden of the Drow and nearby Temple of Bane.
Outside of the Prime Material plane, giant beetles could be found living in the trunk of Yggdrasil the World Ash.
===Relationships===
Some races within the Underdark kept giant beetles as livestock. They were one of the many Underdark creatures that the duergar of Fraaszummdin raised and trained, which they used to defend their city.
The military of Thay sometimes outfitted its soldiers with giant beetles as mounts.
==Trivia==
The noh play Lady Sei featured an anthropomorphized beetle by the name of Minbu.
==Appendix==
===Gallery===
Beetles of baldurs gate.png|Giant beetles infesting the sewers of Baldur's Gate.
===Appearances===
:;Novels
::
::The Ring of Winter
:;Video Games
::Descent to Undermountain • Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance II
===External Links===
* 
===References===
Category:Insects
Category:Creatures found on Yggdrasil
Category:Mounts