o serious attempt has ever been made to domesticate or "farm" the species, like livestock. Many cognoscenti doubt whether it would even be possible, mostly because casterway techniques for corralling a swarm of flying insects are... limited. In controlled laboratory environments, there are certainly documented cases of cognoscenti breeding and experimenting upon bottonflies. But these limited trials are used merely to produce small populations for targeted tests. No one has ever tried to breed them at a scale that would be necessary for commercial processing. Ultimately, the economics of any potential controlled-breeding operations simply don't make sense. Because with the right tools and proper training, anyone can find an abundance of the creatures already in the wild, with no investment needed to feed and nurture them to adulthood.

Uses, Products & Exploitation

T

he bottonfly is the centerpiece of many economies throughout the forested and muddwood regions of Islegantuan . Their plentiful nature and their myriad uses make them central targets of commerce and they have become symbols of many aspects of Elladoran and Inqoan life.

Cuisine

The largest use of the species is for food. When cleaned of all their outer, powdery, white spikes (which are poisonous), the abdomen and thorax of the insects are quite filling - and quite nutritious. Some societies are more careful to remove all outer indications of the insects - the eyes, legs, etc. But in other regions, chefs and diners are content to merely pluck off the spikes and the wings before preparing them to eat. They are almost always fried - sometimes with a light batter, but usually in nothing more than simple cooking oils. But they can also be roasted. When sufficiently heated, their bodies take on an almost-meaty quality.

If the gods smile upon me, I'll never return to that land again. They eat bugs for breakfast. They eat bugs for lunch. They believe there's no better garnish for a bug than... another bug.

Moira Stutzmin, Torholmaan saltfoot, 1771 AoE

Stigma

Bottonfly consumption can sometimes become a social barrier when attempting dialog between residents from two, or three, of the major continents. Although bottonflies are eaten more frequently in eastern Islegantuan than western, nearly everyone on the continent considers the insects to be "normal" cuisine and a viable option for any meal. Most inhabitants of Islemanoton are "neutral" as to bottonfly consumption. The flies are not native to Islemanoton and those peoples rarely eat them. But they don't typically see anything "wrong" about doing so. However, many inhabitants of Isleprimoton's nations have starkly different opinions. It's common for the peoples of Isleprimoton to view bottonfly cuisine as "barbaric" or just-plain "disgusting". Even if they are accepting of the fact that millions of Islegantuan people dine on bottonflies, they themselves would never even attempt it. The average inhabitant of Isleprimoton will openly gag if offered a plate of fried bottonflies - and they'll probably take great offense at the person who committed the faux pas.

Dye

The distinctive rust coloring of their bodies can be extracted and refined into scarlet dyes. The steps needed to process them for dyes makes them unusable as food. But the scarlet dye of the bottonfly is a sought-after accouterments of high fashion and can be far more profitable for the harvester if they know how to properly process the carcasses. This use constitutes the namesake of the Scarlet Bottonfly Company , a massive quasi-criminal organization whose public face is that of a dye-processing merchant.

Poison