Rita Skeeter’s secret Animagus form is a beetle in the Harry Potter books.
Rita is a journalist known for sensational stories, intrusive reporting, and a willingness to distort events for attention. Her Animagus ability lets her transform into a small beetle and secretly observe private conversations, providing material for her articles.
Hermione discovers Rita’s secret after noticing a beetle near a conversation and connecting it with Rita’s unusual knowledge. Hermione then traps Rita in a jar and threatens to expose her illegal, unregistered Animagus transformation.
The detail matters because Rita’s reporting often seems impossibly well informed. Her beetle form explains how she obtains information without being noticed. She is not the same kind of transformed animal as Peter Pettigrew, who is a human wizard permanently hiding in rat form; Peter is an Animagus too, but his animal form is a rat.