SCP-1641

Item #: SCP-1641

Object Class: Euclid

Special Containment Procedures: All specimens of SCP-1641 are to be contained individually in vivariums inside the Ballistic Testing and Explosive Items Containment bunker of Site 438. Male larvae of SCP-1641 are to be fed 12 grams of powdered iron daily, and female larvae are to receive 12 grams of powdered aluminum daily. Due to cannibalistic tendencies, no two larvae of the same sex are to be allowed to interact.

Each larval and adult specimen of SCP-1641 is to be given a 250 milliliter dish of water, which is to be replaced daily and laced with trace amounts of iron or aluminum for adult specimens to consume (respective to gender). All SCP-1641 habitats are to be maintained at a minimum 70% relative humidity.

When adult instances of SCP-1641 are ready to breed, each individual breeding pair is to be placed inside a separate blast chamber and provided with 500 g of iron, steel, or aluminum, upon which they will complete their breeding cycle. Upon hatching, all larvae of SCP-1641 are to be contained in new vivaria under the conditions outlined above. The project director and the Foundation-appointed lepidopterist assigned to SCP-1641 will determine the appropriate number of SCP-1641 needed to maintain a viable breeding population, and all specimens deemed to be in excess are to be melted down and used as food stock for those in containment.

Description: SCP-1641 is a species of butterfly resembling those of the genus Mechanitis. SCP-1641 are unusual in their almost entirely metallic composition: male specimens' bodies are composed of iron and iron oxide, while females are composed of aluminum. Larvae are capable of growing to a size of 7.5 centimeters and a mass of 4 grams, and adult specimens of SCP-1641 have an average wingspan of 10 centimeters and mass of 2 grams.

The average lifespan of an SCP-1641 instance is approximately two weeks, and specimens expire upon reproduction. During the mating period of their life cycle, a male and female specimen will locate and land on a suitable mass of iron or aluminum. Mating specimens will then embrace and, through an unknown process, initiate a thermite reaction that subsequently consumes their bodies. Larvae will emerge from the slag within an hour of the breeding process, and begin consuming the nesting site and any other available metal sources. One pair of adults is capable of producing an average of fifty larvae per breeding cycle.

As the thermite reaction requires iron oxide, male specimens of SCP-1641 have several morphological adaptations to facilitate oxidation, such as tracheae to expose a large surface area of metal to atmospheric oxygen and moisture. The accumulation of rust is eventually deleterious to the male's continued animation, which leads highly-oxidized males to become increasingly frantic in search of a mate, until either successfully reproducing (and self-immolating) or the complete failure of the specimen's structural integrity.

Recovery Log: SCP-1641 first came to Foundation attention through simultaneous reports of an unusually large swarm of butterflies and a highly destructive wildfire during the local rainy season, as well as mass equipment failure due to insect infestation at a foundry site in ███████, Costa Rica. A Mobile Observation Team was dispatched to examine the site for signs of anomalous activity.

Upon arrival, the observation team discovered several thousand SCP-1641 larvae consuming all available sources of iron and aluminum in the area, including parts of the buildings, forging equipment, and nearby vehicles. A containment team was dispatched, undercover as entomologists studying the new species, and all reports of the incident were suppressed.

Approximately five days after initial containment efforts began, a logging company on the other side of ███████ began to file similar complaints of equipment failure, and another wildfire was reported in the area. A local fire investigation team traced the source of the fire to a mechanical harvester on site, where more larvae of SCP-1641 were found and successfully contained. The foreman of the logging company reported to the observation team that he had received a threatening phone call on the company phone line approximately one hour before the incident. Within 48 hours, the phone call was traced to a hotel in the town, where several books on metallurgy and butterfly morphology were found, details of which can be found in Document 1641-14B-31. The resident of the room, an American national by the name of Richard █████████, was arrested and interviewed by Foundation staff. See Addendum 1641-1 for a transcription of the interview. All civilian witnesses, including the police, fire, and insurance investigators have been administered amnestics.

Addendum 1641-1: