I Really Liked The Idea Of Protospecies When I First Read The Book When Beetlewings Were First Mentioned - Blog Posts

Up first are the BeetleWings!

Some additional info below:

BeetleWings (as well as LeafWings) are native to Pantala; they did not come from Pyrrhia.

^ BeetleWings also naturally evolved into HiveWings and SilkWings on their own. There were already proto versions of them when Clearsight arrived.

Their extra set of legs gives them better dexterity and balance, especially for spinning silk.

There are two distinct types of BeetleWings, juggernauts and skimmers.

^ Juggernauts are the staple BeetleWing. They were known for their muscular build and powerful elytra.

^ Skimmers are more lithe BeetleWings that eventually evolved into HiveWings and SilkWings. They were better fliers, but much weaker.

Juggernaut BeetleWings have the strongest scales of any dragon, especially the elytra.

^ While seen as a morbid practice by some, elytra were very important family heirlooms in some communities. They were extracted by the healer of the family from the body and used as shields. It was a way for deceased dragons to continue protecting their family even in death.

BeetleWings go through metamorphosis, which was passed down to SilkWings but lost in the HiveWings.

In addition to flamesilk, BeetleWings had other fire-related abilities such as flamespit and mild fire resistance.

There are still BeetleWings in the modern day. They retreated to the northwestern mountains of Pantala, which have largely been untouched due to its instability (earthquakes, sinkholes, even volcanic activity). They strongly resemble juggernauts.