The Hive
Xylocopa’s culture is unique. They only need a few outside resources to survive, and unlike other races, they can naturally produce a substance called Honey. This can be not only a food source, but also a building material. They can turn the honey into a hardened material that they use to build their hives. Because of their close-knit community, they don't normally allow outsiders to enter their colony and only trade for outside materials when necessary. For example, sometimes they go to the nearest kingdom to seek ore necessary to make weapons for themselves.
Xylocopa believe that nature has already given them all they need to survive and there was no need to continue to evolve further. While it’s okay for Xylocopa to have personal hobbies, they don't put value on the arts. A Xylocopa’s duty is to protect and maintain the hive. Members that don't have this value in mind are quickly kicked out of the colony. However, there have been rare cases when colonies of Xylocopa have gone through a significant change.
Many Xylocopa punctuate their speech with buzzes, sounds they use to convey emphasis and to shade meaning, much as a common bug might through facial expressions and gestures. An Xylocopa might become frustrated with bugs who fail to pick up on the nuances; an Xylocopa’s threat might be taken as a jest and vice versa.
Adventuring Xylocopa are very uncommon and usually come about if they are exiled from the hive or if the hive is destroyed.
Names
As with much of their speech, Xylocopa names include clicks, trills, and whistles to the point that other peoples have a difficult time pronouncing them. Typically, a name has two to four syllables with the sounds acting as connectors. When interacting with other races, Xylocopa may use nicknames gained from people they meet or shortened forms of their full names.
An Xylocopa of either gender may have one of these short names: Aera, Aial, Aur, Deekek, Errk, Heehk, Ikki, Kleeck, Oorr, Ouss, Quierk, Salleek, Urreek, or Zeed.
BACKGROUNDS
Backgrounds that are most appropriate for Xylocopa include the outlander, the hermit, and the soldier.
The smaller colonies of Xylocopa are insular and remote, and few Xylocopa live away from their roosts. In the hive burred within the Kingdom's Edge, it is extremely rare for any Xylocopa to live away from their colonies. Those that do are usually rangers or fighters, constantly patrolling for outside threats.