A Manual of Chitinous Etiquette for the Gallic Court (1744)

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I. On the Arrangement of the Salon The seating of the human guest is secondary to the seating of the Chitin. A Sapphire-Caste beetle requires the elevated velvet plinth; to place a creature of such iridescent standing upon a mere mahogany table is a provocation of the highest order. Should two guests of equal rank arrive, precedence is determined by the wing-span of their respective companions. The individual with the more expansive elytra shall be granted the position nearest the hearth, provided the heat does not induce a premature lethargy in the insect. II. On the Provision of Sustenance The offering of the honey-cake is a ritual of precision. The cakes must be glazed with orange blossom nectar and served at a temperature of exactly forty degrees. One does not offer the cake directly to the beetle; rather, the host places the cakes upon a chilled porcelain disc. The host shall then stand at a distance of three paces and incline the head. One must wait for the beetle to signal its intent via the rhythmic vibration of its elytra before the dish is slid forward. To rush the feeding is to imply that the creature is a common scavenger rather than a sentient partner of the nobility. III. On the Observance of the Pale State The Molting Cycle, known as the Pale State, demands a rigorous and stifling silence. When a companion's beetle sheds its exoskeleton, the discarded husk must be removed by a mute servant without a word being spoken. To gaze upon the soft, white underbelly of a molting creature is a privilege reserved for spouses and immediate kin; for a stranger to do so is an intimacy that borders on the obscene. Furthermore, it is an unpardonable vulgarity to comment upon the translucence of a companion during their recovery. Should a guest notice a slight tremor in the new shell or a lack of luster in the emerging pigment, they are to maintain a mask of absolute indifference. To acknowledge the vulnerability of the chitin is to acknowledge the mortality of the house, a breach of etiquette that may result in immediate social exile.