Flotation Device: Demeterans

Wow! Two datasheets in one day! it's almost as if I can be productive when I try.

Anyway, in Flotation Device, all 11 planets in our solar system have native, sentient life on them, and go by names based on Greek mythology instead of Roman lore. If any of you guessed that the demeterans are actually supposed to be from Ceres, then congratulations. Before I begin, TL;DR, The demeterans are an insecto-mammal species that hails from a dwarf planet in the asteroid belt. They are one of the least populous species in the Solar System, but are known to their neighbors as space-exploring pilgrims, philosophers, and diplomats. If any race gets to be the "elves" of the setting, its the demeterans. They are stereotyped as arrogant capitalists that naturally produce gold in their bodies. They hold almost every other species in low regard and often with great disdain, but they are allies with the humans and aresians in the Solar System Coalition. Now, for those of you who like to read, here's the unabridged version:

Biology:
Demeterans are tall, lean insecto-mammals that seem like a cross between humans and bees, though it has been discovered that they have more in common with gaian roaches. Their skin is equal parts soft flesh and rough, chitinous shell. The main diversifying factor of the demeterans is that the females of the species naturally produce a chemical called petra. it's a cocktail of numerous different elements, though the most important parts of the compound are gold and carbon. A female's breasts are the primary glands that produce petra, and the chemical flows throughout their body until it escapes through their pours and is shed from their skin, petrifying into solid, precious metal. Demeterans have three eyes, though none of them do anything special compared to humans. Their antennae serve as both sound and smell receptors. They are digitigrade organisms, and are omnivores, though many demeterans choose to be vegetarians.

Civilization:
The Demeteran Hegemony is the government of their homeworld, and is a member state of the Solar System Coalition. The Hegemony is an aristocratic parliament ruled by the most affluent demeterans. In the earliest stages of the Hegemony's existence, the demeterans lived in a matriarchy, though males have gradually worked their way up to become equals in their society, especially after the demeterans became embroiled in the affairs of the Solar System. The demeterans were the powder keg in the first interplanetary conflict; the Belt War, which involved the aresians, zeusans, and demeterans vying for dominance of the Asteroid Belt. the war was short, but enabled the demeterans to displace the zeusans in their alliance with the Solar System Coalition. The demeterans stole the latest position in the Coalition ten years ago, and have been striving to involve themselves as much as they can in the Coalitions' operations, and its war with the aphrodisians.

Culture:
Demeterans are a very traditional people, and have possibly the strongest theological presence among the pre-belt species. They are stereotyped as modest, arrogant, avaricious, materialistic, and opinionated aristocrats who will gladly sacrifice their friends and values just to add more gold to their treasure hoards. While not entirely true, the odd demeteran may meet such criteria. Demeteran society long-revolved around petra, and ancient wars were fought over obtaining the precious metal by extracting it from dead enemies. Whoever has the most petra, or the capacity to create the most, is the most powerful in their society, and females, who naturally create petra while they're alive, are at the top of the food chain. Effectively, this has the side effect of making demeterans care even more about breast size than humans, as larger petral glands mean larger chests for demeterans, and more petra every cycle. Demeterans earned the attention of the similarly capitalistic gaians when both species began to expand into space, and it was discovered that demeterans could expel gold from their bodies. The need for demeterans to trade with other people also made it necessary for them to modify their economy and made petra less important. This was one of the main catalysts for the equality of males and females in demeteran society. The other was men fighting at the behest of their female leaders in the Belt War, where they fought horrible odds against the aresians and the zeusans, and earned their equality in the eyes of their peers. While not as uniform as it once was, most males still fully cover themselves in public, as shown in the image above. Demeterans often travel the solar system as pilgrims, or serve on other worlds as diplomats and philosophers.

I can't think of much else for now. This was a fun idea to run with. For the many of you who might not know (because I didn't before two months ago), Demeter is this universe's version of Ceres, a dwarf planet in the Asteroid Belt, and technically the 5th planet in the Solar System. Anyway, I decided to draw the female topless because they don't have nipples, and with the exception of the curves, breasts, and line quality, the male wouldn't look too different under the coverings. I wanted to cover up the male to show that element of their culture. It's rare for males to show too much skin in public (yeah, I'm pulling a reverse-Islam). Demeter is also a much nicer planet to live on in Flotation Device than in real life, as real life Ceres is an inhospitable rock in the middle of the asteroid belt. Demeter has a healthy amount of vegetation and has been terraformed since ancient times by the demeterans, who have made it into quite a beautiful dwarf planet. I stole some of the insecto-mammal ideas from some alien species concepts you can find here on DeviantART, but i think the overall design came out pretty well. Also, "Chitinous" is one of my favorite words.

So far, the demeterans have been featured in this piece by .

There are a few more on the way, but here are the other species datasheets so far: