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Insects

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Burrower Wasps (Mugroba)

Known to the wicks as Hama Koketa, these insects are now very rare, but once filled the desert with their harmonious song.

These large, deadly insects looks like enormous wasps, but are actually more closely related to starflies. They generally grow to 1-2 inches in length, though there are anecdotal reports of individuals up to 12 inches. Unlike wasps, they lack stingers, however, their bite is extremely painful and usually leads to infection - and sometimes death - if left untreated. Their wings make a characteristic hum, and in groups the hum of the swarm seems to harmonize with itself, forming a hauntingly beautiful "wasp song".

They form large underground hives in the deserts of Mugroba, though at one time hives were occasionally sighted as far south as the Talmarma river. The hives are deep underground cities, home to between a hundred and a thousand wasps. Each nest looks from the surface like a large sandy hill, riddled with wasp-sized holes. Since the wasps never breed in captivity, it is generally believed that there is a queen somewhere in the depths of the colony, but this has never been confirmed. The hives are known for their "honey milk", a milky white mush that is secreted by the digger wasps to feed their larvae. Interestingly, the honey has extremely high water content, and in the depths of the Mugrobi desert the nests are often the largest (sometimes *only*) source of water for miles in any direction. It is said that the wasp acquire water by burrowing all the way to the water table deep below the earth, essentially digging a well in the desert for themselves. Alternately, some galdori academics theorize that they condense the water directly from the air, somehow.

The wasps are highly empathic. In the presence of burrower wasps any fear, hostility, or worst of all, panic, is said to provoke immediate attack. wicks and other travelers practiced in dealing with the insects are able to dig up the nests and harvest the milk honey with impunity, simply by carefully maintaining an absolute, unwavering calm. There are tales of Burrower Wasps being trained for use as lie detectors, however, in reality they usually die within days when placed in captivity, and don't seem to be particularly interested in lies one way or the other.

The wasps hold special significance to many wicks, and is often associated with Hulali. They are said to be particularly docile in Achtus, the month after the festival honoring their prime god.

Once common, burrower wasps have been becoming increasingly rare in recent decades, and are now on the brink of extinction. The cause for this is unknown, but old wick folktales claim that the wasps flee the land when hardship is immanent for it's people.


Starfly (Anaxas, Hesse)

A large insect, looks like a cross between a dragonfly and a firefly. Leaves a temporary trail of phosphorescent light when it flies. So named because it is commonly mistaken for a falling star.