Carrion Wasp

Name: Carrion Wasp, also known as a Blight Wasp

Fauna Type: Insect

Mod Status: Self

Quick Facts: Larger than average wasps, they have acid-green markings on their abdomens, and their biggest danger is their venom, which necrotizes flesh

Height: Roughly an inch standing, but very often seen flying.

Width: Half an inch, not including wingspan. Two inches including wingspan, roughly.

Length: 4-7 inches, excluding wings or antennae

Weight: Negligible.

Native Location: Rhakros / Uzkernian Jungle

Meta-Location Found: Everywhere except extreme environs, like Viden (cold) and Sirothelle (heat).

Appearance: All black except for the speckles of acid green on their backs, the Carrion Wasp is one of the most feared insects in Rhakros. Though they are not the largest of Lisirra's creation, their very appearance gives those witnessing the impression that the wasp need not be messed with. The wings, which are long and designed for quick flying and turning in the air, sit vertically along the abdomens of the wasp, leaving a gap in between where the markings can be observed. They have a proboscis that extends when they are imbibing the liquid ooze their venom creates, but other than that appear very much the same as a typical wasp.

Habitat: A Carrion Wasp can live almost anywhere on Idalos. Adaptable, the insects can build their hives in all but the most extreme habitats. Frigid places such as Oscillus and Viden are exempt, as well as those extremely hot such as the Hotlands and Sirothelle's volcano, though the wasps have been spotted on the very edges of the hotter climes. They prefer places that are humid and warm, but will settle for anything so long as their is a plethora of food and shelter.

Lifespan and Development: Carrion wasps are designed by the Plague Lady for a specific purpose, and thus their gestation and birth follow similar patterns. Egg sacs are laid in a corpse, anything dead as long as it was made of flesh. These eggs, laid in cell-like pod clusters, are fertilized by the males and then kept incubated by the female wasp. The female secretes a special venom from her stinger during mating season that, like the typical venom, breaks down tissues, but also does so at a pace rapid enough to release trace amounts of heat. This heat keeps the eggs warm until they hatch, which can take up to three full trials after insemination. There is a 40% mortality rate for hatching wasps, but they are laid in such large quantities that it usually isn't observable outside maintained colonies.

A Carrion wasp doesn't mature for nearly thirty trials. During that time, its wings are shorter and allow for less maneuverable flight. Instead, the wasp sets about finding and storing food, which is liquidated flesh from carrion it finds. It will store this in its hive corpse, and the queen wasp will feed off this through most of the arc. Once they mature, though, the wasps develop their signature toxin and begin their hunt for further colonization attempts or begin to hunt for bigger food sources. Carrion wasps can live up to one arc if uninhibited, though few rarely do.

Diet: Carrion wasps use their venom to enhance the decay of dead flesh at an extremely rapid pace. This allows them to drink and store liquidated flesh for consumption, which they must do at least once a trial. During mating season, males consume three times as much and the queen consumes six times as much.

Temperament: Extremely territorial, Carrion wasps have been known to attack on sight. Though they typically won't use their venom unless threatened, the carrion wasp's sting is still painful. Colonies can be pacified like any wasp, by using smoke to stun them.

Abilities: Carrion wasps are extremely maneuverable. In flight, they can stop and turn in almost an instant, allowing them to position their stingers for optimal use. Additionally, Carrion wasps produce a venom that necrotizes flesh at a rapid pace. Though very rarely used against living flesh naturally, the venom can decay all flesh, living or dead.

Credit: Thessaly