COMC-501 Lessons

Why So Glum, Fifth Years?

Welcome back to Care of Magical Creatures! I am so proud to see how far you have all come. I’ve been with you all for two full terms now, and it is truly exciting to see how you have grown into Fifth Years! I hope you all enjoyed your break! I know I did, but now it is time to come back to school and learn about some of the world’s most fascinating creatures. I won’t give anything away, but I will say that some of the animals we will be looking at this year have been much anticipated.

Just like last year, Professor Anne and I will be splitting the creatures to be covered this year. We will be finishing up all of the XXX classified creatures, and then start to cover the XXXX classified creatures. Like the previous years, there will be a year-long project discussed in depth during the next lesson.

Before we begin, I’m going to remind you of the expectations and rules in this class. First, here is the rubric. Nothing has changed from last year, but here it is for your convenience!

Our Grading Rubric

60%- Content and Original Ideas

This section includes your personal thoughts regarding the prompt given as well as facts given to support your ideas. If you aren’t answering all or part of the prompt, you can also be marked down in this section. This is the bulk of your work.

15%- Effort

If Professor Anne, myself, or our PAs feel as though you are not putting any effort into your essay, you can be marked down in this area. You may not be putting enough thought into a prompt, or you may not be going into much detail.

10%- Mechanics

This section includes grammar and spelling errors. Make sure you are proofreading all of your work!

10%- Word Count

To make sure you are covering all of the prompt, we place word requirements on all essays, so keep an eye out for those. If you don’t meet the requirement, you’ll lose points.

5%- Anonymity

Please do not list your name, house, or any identifying marks in your work.

And as always, please understand that plagiarism is an automatic failing grade for all involved parties. Retakes will not be allowed in these circumstances.

If you have a learning disability, physical disability, or you are not a speaker of the English language, please make sure you are appropriately marking your papers with either LD, PD, or NES so that they may be graded accordingly. You will not be marked down for mechanics.

Now that we’ve settled that, Professor Anne has a few words for you.

Hello students! I just wanted to remind you of the significance of the year. At the end of the term, you will be sitting your Ordinary Wizarding Level exams. These exams will determine which courses you can continue to pursue during your remaining two years at Hogwarts. I implore you to take them seriously, and begin studying now, as they will contain information from all of your magical learning up to the exam. Should any of you need any help or additional study materials, please reach out to myself or Professor Cattercorn, and we can help you. With that in mind, please enjoy your first Care of Magical Creatures lesson of Year Five!

Thank you, Professor Anne. I think that’s all there is to say on that subject matter, so let’s go ahead and discuss the creature of the day.

Glumbumbles: Infestors of Beehives

The creature we will be learning about today is called the Glumbumble. It’s not necessarily just an animal; it is considered an insect. These creatures are not found worldwide, but instead they are only located in Northern Europe. The Glumbumbles are Beasts with a M.O.M. Classification of XXX. These small insects are about the size of a bee, and covered in thick, grey fur. Their size is an important characteristic, so keep this in mind. Glumbumbles produce a thick treacle (which is essentially a syrup for those who haven’t heard of it).

Glumbumbles are not ordinary Beasts. They are actually deemed as pests. This is because they often choose to infest any beehives they can find. The treacle they produce actually contaminates the honey that the bees have produced. When combined with the bees’ honey, the treacle creates a substance that is very dangerous to eat. Doing so will cause a disease called Botulism. If it is not caught, it is rarely preventable. The treacle does not alter the appearance of the honey at all, so you cannot look at the honey and tell if it has been infected with Botulism.

Botulism is a very rare but often fatal condition that can be caused by foodborne toxins (which we will focus on today), wounds, or when bacteria colonizes in the intestines of an infant. The symptoms of each of these vary, but we will only talk about foodborne botulism. You may experience a complete lack of control of their face. You may not be able to breathe well, your eyelids may droop and you could be entirely conscious, or you could experience dry mouth. You may have a hard time swallowing or speaking, along with nausea and severe cramps. You could even become paralyzed. Depending on how much of the contaminated food you consumed, you could have these symptoms for a mere hour or two, or for days. The symptoms typically take 12 to 36 hours to occur in affected individuals.

Fortunately, Botulism is very uncommon. This is because there are jobs within the Ministry of Magic that help to prevent the spread of Botulism. We have discussed the Pest Advisory Board under the Department of Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures before. As I mentioned earlier in the lesson, Glumbumbles are considered pests by the DRCMC. The Pest Advisory Board is responsible for removing Glumbumbles from beehives inspecting honey farms regularly to check for contaminated hives. The Pest Advisory Board will destroy contaminated hives, in order to keep Botulism from spreading. If it is a random hive, then nothing more needs to be done. If it is a large-scale operation, like a honey bee farm, the individual will duplicate a safe hive to replace the infected one. That way the apiarist, or beekeeper, will not notice that one of their hives went missing. By doing this, we protect Muggles from massive Botulism outbreaks and the discovery of the wizarding world.

But Glumbumbles aren’t all bad! There are many people who raise them, and for a good reason. Although their treacle can be deadly when combined with honey, there are some benefits to it. Some people like to keep Glumbumbles specifically for this treacle. When consumed alone, the treacle causes one to feel rather glum, hence the name “Glumbumble”. However, it can also be used as an antidote to cure the effects from eating the leaves of the alihotsy tree. The leaves of this tree contain a property that causes hysteria and uncontrollable laughter. These leaves also happen to be poisonous to Glumbumbles, however, they have no effect on bees. If you have eaten an alihotsy leaf, and find yourself uncontrollably giddy, Glumbumble treacle will balance you out. As you can see, though the leaves are poisonous to Glumbumbles, Glumbumble treacle will remedy the effects of the leaves if you consume them.

If you are interested in keeping these insects, you should know the basics. Glumbumbles prefer to create their nests in dark, cool areas. Caves and shady areas are ideal. A beehive is their preferred nest, but we don’t want that for obvious reasons! Your best bet is to find an abandoned beehive, and place it in a dark room. They don’t enjoy the company of other creatures. They tend to drive out bees once they have infested their hives, overrunning the hive and infecting the honey. If you were to create a habitat for them, you would benefit having them live alone, and you should only check on them once or twice a week. Glumbumbles feed on Nettles. As you learned in Herbology, Nettles are a plant with green leaves, and are covered in little stinging hairs. They are used to remedy allergies, as well as various ailments and illnesses. With this being the Glumbumbles food of choice, it explains why the treacle can be used to treat the effects of alihotsy leaves: the effects of the nettles leach into their treacle. They are only fresh in the Spring, so Glumbumble keepers will stockpile them, preserving them to have throughout the year.

Glumbumbles can be rewarding insects to care for. However, you must have a special license in order to take care of a Glumbumble. This license is administered through the Pest Advisory Board. You will require an application, which details how you plan to care for the Glumbumbles, including their habitat and Nettle collection and preservation, and why you wish to keep them. Successful applicants advance to a secondary round, where they are interviewed and asked to set up an example of the habitat they discussed in their application which is then examined by the Board. Those selected for the license after the interview will be notified via official owl. You are required to have your habitats examined on a yearly basis to renew your license. You can apply for a license as soon as you are of age, which, if you recall, is when you turn seventeen years old.

Glumbumbles reproduce a lot like the common fly. There are differences of course, but the general process is the same. Like the fly, the Glumbumble is monogamous. They will mate for life. A female Glumbumble lets a male know that she is ready to mate by releasing a pheromone called muscalure. The male that chooses to mate with the female will latch on to her. The male will grasp the female, and deposit his sperm. The sperm is then stored in the spermatheca, which is the female’s reproductive system. She can store the sperm here and can periodically lay eggs by accessing the spermatheca. Throughout the female’s life, she can lay her eggs several times. She can have around 1,500 offspring total, and tends to lay about 200 eggs at one time. The female lays her eggs in dark locations, with a mildly cool temperature. The eggs will hatch in about eight to twelve hours, and maggots will emerge. From this stage, the maggots will evolve into pupates after around eight days. After about a week, they will grow into adult Glumbumbles. Their average lifespan usually lasts about 125 days. This is about 50 days longer than the average fly - a difference between the two insects!

Closing

Alright, class, that’s all for today’s lesson. Professor Anne will see you next time with some exciting content on the year-long project. Until then, please be working on your assignments. I have a simple and short quiz for you, and a quick essay. Have a great day, everyone!

Lesson content written by Professor Elizabeth Anne and Professor Aurelia Cattercorn

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