As a general rule, eye contact averted, relaxed trunks, and feathers smoothed are associated with positive feelings, while eye contact, tense trunks, and fluffed feathers indicate distress.
The triangle trunk shape is considered a smile, and triangles often appear in symbols representing happiness, being friendly, and good intentions.
Tone of voice also can indicate emotions, and is relied on more if an individual is using their trunk for something. (Although tenseness can still be seen even when holding something)
Bugs speak through a very complicated mechanism of tubes and valves connected to their 3 lungs, which takes a large part of their developmental period and brain capacity to master. As such, if they are especially amused, hurt, tired, or upset, they may struggle to speak clearly, with words being interrupted by atonal breaths, squeaks, or gaspy vibrating noises.
Finally, the reference sheet for my OC worldbuilding species: Bugs!!!
More info and no text version under the cut :p
Bugs are a sapient species that lives with my other species, Wyrms. Their planet is mostly covered in forests made of very large trees. This species fulfills a very similar niche to ants, and relative to the environment is about the same size. (For making art purposes, compared to humans they're about the size of a small dog)
Much like ants, they are eusocial, and their societies functions using a gender-based caste system. The queen is at the top, next are the royals and the layers, and the working class is comprised of flashes, duns, and larges. I will go more in depth on their reproduction and gender dimorphism later, but that's the gist of it. They are not a "hive mind" in the traditional sense, but pherwmones are spread from the queen to the populace through the royals, which allows everyone to "taste" how the queen is feeling generally, and gives a strong hormonal attachment to the colony. As such they are VERY social, and very rarely travel alone.
Bugs manipulate objects with their trunk, which forks at the tip for greater grip and precision, and walk on all 6 legs.
They are in the clade of "shelled bugs," which means they have something similar to an exoskeleton covering most of their body, much like a turtle.
Their vocal apparatus is an assortment of tubing and apertures connecting to their 3 lungs, and sounds very much like a trumpet. Musically inclined bugs can learn how to sing two different tones at once, but this takes a lot of practice.
Bugs are opportunistic omnivores, and stationary populations will typically farm both animals and plants. They have some ability to digest wood pulp, a remnant from their more grub-like ancestry, however this ability is no longer used much as wood pulp is very low in nutrients and farming is widespread.
Some Bug populations are integrated with Wyrms, and there are methods of communication between the two species. They have had a long history of conflicts and discrimination, but are starting to coexist in the area I will mostly be expanding on.
