What are bugfolk?
Bugfolk are bipedal, sapient insects that are most closely related to Dictyoptera (a group of insects that cockroaches, termites, and mantises). They are not, technically speaking, bugs; this bugs one of us quite a bit, but "roachfolk" didn't have quite the right vibe for our game. (Great band name, though.)
Appearance
Bugfolk are between 1.5 and 2 inches tall (roughly 4-5 cm). They have long, powerful legs, four arms, small vestigial wings, and two large, curved eyes. Their eyes have a pseudopupil like a mantis's. A pseudopupil looks like a small black pupil (mantises and some crustaceans have them), but it's actually caused by the way parts of some compound eyes interact with light. Like mantises, bugfolk have sharp vision and relatively good depth perception.
Bugfolk's exoskeletons are varying shades of greens and browns, and sometimes a mottled mix of both. Bugfolk may etch shallow patterns into their shells to create tattoo-like effects; these designs are lost when bugfolk molt, which adults do about once every year or two.
Bugfolk usually wear ponchos, capes, or cloaks. These protect their wings (which bugfolk usually keep hidden) and often offer some protection either with camouflage or thickness. Tools and weapons are what give them a chance against the many dangers they face, so they often wear belts, bags, packs with useful survival items.
Culture & lifestyle
Bugfolk prefer to live in loose-knit communities. Like humans, they're very social; they love a good chat or a good letter, and they'll take any excuse to host community meals. Families, called broods, are often large, consisting of multiple partnered adults and many offspring (called nymphs). Communities often form in areas with abundant, secure shelter, often far from humans (who usually mistake bugfolk for skinny cockroaches), and to remain hidden they usually build homes within trees, logs, abandoned infrastructure, or burrows. Bugfok do live in human cities, though, living in the many spaces within and between human buildings.
Every community has a monewitch. Monewitches are immensely knowledgeable, highly trained, and fill a role that's a mix of chemist, naturalist, physician, historian, and spiritual advisor. Monewitches know how to render, mix, and synthesize pheremonal and herbal compounds that can repel predators, tame useful bugs, and cure illnesses. Without a monewitch, no community will last long.
Communication
Bugfolk don't have vocal chords. They communicate with a complex language that involves sounds produced by the spiracles (breathing holes) in their abdomen, clicking sounds made with their mouthparts, body language and gestures, and chemical communication.