Iyo

Overview

Name: Iyo

Fauna Type: Insect

Mod Status: Self

Height: 1-1.5 feet

Wingspan: 2-3 feet

Length: 0.5-1 foot

Weight: Caterpillar: 2-4 kg/4-8 lbs; Butterfly: 1-2 kg/2-4 lbs

Native to: Southern Idalos

Locations: Makubwa Lori, Desnind (Captive)

Created By: Nymph

Appearance:

The Iyọ are born as round, translucent, glowing eggs just before the new arc begins (Cylus). They are about the size of a nectarine at this stage, able to fit within the palm of any human hand. The color of the egg’s glow is highly suggestive of the adult Iyọ color. Once the eggs hatch, a fat and fuzzy caterpillar emerges with stripes of the glow color they will carry throughout their life. These “glow bugs” start off small, about the size of an average adult human’s palm. Over the course of the next year, they get progressively bigger until they weight about 4-8 pounds and have a length of approximately 1 foot. At this point, they are mostly fat. They have spent all of their life storing energy for the final transformation, which starts at the beginning of Cylus.

For some reason, all these “glow bugs” form a cocoon starting the 1st Trial of Cylus. The cocoon is thick enough to prevent any light from escaping and all wild caterpillars are very difficult to find at this time. They spend the next 21 to 22 trials within the cocoon. Once they have incubated, cocoon splits to reveal a large butterfly with their wings glowing the color they were born with. Captive butterflies are expected to mate with their lamp mate within a day or two before the release on the Trial 23 of Cylus.

Iyọ have been highly sought after mostly for their glowing nature. They come in three colors: yellow, green, and blue. The larger the caterpillar gets, the more light they emit. This has become extremely beneficial for people using them as lamps as they tend to produce the most light later in an arc.

Habitat:

Wild Iyọ commonly live in the forests of the Southern Region. They are native to the [[ Makubwa Lori mostly because they were a result of Lisirra’s plague. The contamination of the forest resulted in a mutation of normal butterflies. This mutation caused the caterpillar stripes and the wings of an adult butterfly to glow. This species was named after the word “lamp” in Xanthea, as Sev’ryn native to Desnind have used these mutated insects to provide light to their city.

Lifespan and Development:

Iyọ live for one full arc, being born on the 23rd of Cylus and generally dying at the end of Cylus the following arc. They spend a majority of their life living as caterpillars, eating and growing fat for the final metamorphosis. The cocoon portion of their life lasts 21-22 days, based on gender. Males tend to emerge from the cocoon first and the females follow a day later. The mating process is uneventful, as they produce similar to fish. The eggs are laid by the female and then fertilized by the male.

For the next 24-36 hours, the eggs will move from opaque to translucent before finally glowing the color that they will maintain for the rest of their lives. If an egg remains opaque, it is generally removed as it is unfertilized. Captive Iyọ clutches will be manipulated so eggs of the same glow color are housed in the same glass lamp for the rest of the year. At the end of the year, the Sev'ryn hope that the pair include a male and a female. If there are two males or two females in a lamp, this pair will not produce a clutch. Since there is about 8-10 eggs in a clutch and about 50% are fertilized, there are enough Iyọ to fill lamps that did not have a mated pair.

The eggs hatch by the end of Cylus, around the time the adults die. The young caterpillars will glow from hatching and immediately start feasting on the forage the lamp owner provides. They will grow slowly over the next arc until the cycle starts over again.

Diet:

The caterpillars have a voracious appetite for anything green, be it grass or leaves to tough vines or water plants. Anything that lives and grows is food for these small eating machines. They do not need a source of water as the plants they ingest are generally high in water content; however, this means that dried plant material is not a nutritious food source. The adults eat a similar diet of plants, but will also suck nectar from night flowers that bloom during Cylus.

Temperament:

These animals are nto known to have a temperament. They are known for glowing and eating. Beyond that, they have no real 'personality'.

Abilities:

Glowing Stripes/Wings - Green, Yellow, or Blue

Uses:

Lightsource – Various colors

In a time of need, they have been used as a food source

See Also

Please also see the Iyo Cone as a reagent.