Lifeforms · Fauna · Forest/ Jungle
Black Leaf Bug
It is whispered at harvest bonfires that sometimes swarms will combine into a monstrously huge pile of Black Leaf Bugs, able to instantly stop anything it comes across. What is left explodes in a shower of maggots.
Full Description
There are several different species of Black Leaf Bugs, each resembling the shed leaves of various deciduous trees. They all share a few traits in common: swarm behaviour, poor flight, behavioural mimicry of leaves blown by the wind, defenses, feeding modes, and means of reproduction.
In appearance, Black Leaf Bugs resemble a cluster of fallen leaves, blown about by the breeze. It is not uncommon to see more than one species represented within a swarm. When they encounter a large animal however, they quickly swarm and paralyze it. Individually, their bites are small, and their paralytic venom weak. However, in a swarm, the collective toxin can quickly subdue even a cow, and keep it paralyzed until the larvae have devoured it. The adult females feed on animal blood, leaving pinprick sized holes on the paralyzed victim, barely noticable even under scruitiny. Adult males, ironically, feed on dead vegetable matter. All however, swarm and inject their paralyzing toxin.
The eggs hatch within a few hours, and the tiny larvae burrow their way deep inside the victim's flesh. The paralyzed victim is eaten from the inside-out, while it is still alive and conscious for the early stages. The skin & bones are not consumed by the developing larvae, but muscle & soft tissues are. This leaves (pun unintended) the victim in the latter stages resembling a horrific type of scarecrow—the frame & skin are stuffed with wriggling vile leaves. These burst out from the victim, and become a new swarm.
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Also in
Codex hubs that gather this piece with similar work.
- Raid on Tantalus IV dark_dragon
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Links to this article 2
- Insects (and Spiders and other creepy crawlies) ephemeralstability linked by MoonHunter
- Raid on Tantalus IV Alongside dark_dragon linked by Strolen
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I really like the scarecrow bit at the end. Bugs seems to be a popular creature here.
I just reread this. This is a scary set of creatures. All of a sudden you need to worry about a cloud of leaves in the wind coming at you.
You can also use their victims as a 'fear inducing feature', as if a few swarms rolled across a given swath of terrain the PCs are travelling, they could find the desicated corpes in odd positions.
wow...nifty! I echo the 2 comments. Scarecrow-nice! cloud of deadly leaves-nice!
Nasty - and in a good way.