I’m back with another bestiary update after a little break. (Or, did I really take a break? Maybe I didn’t?)

There are a lot of interesting creatures I could have talked about this month, including creatures that have appeared in the novellas or been hinted at elsewhere. However, a lot of the creatures I’ve showcased have been predators, and a realistic ecosystem needs more prey than predators. So this month, I just want to talk about bugs.

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Name: Category One Bugs
World: Black
Material: Gelatinous and/or Shell
Thought Type: Constrained
Species Type: Bug
Habitat: All Black World Habitats

In both the Green World and the Black World, bugs form an important role in the ecosystem. They exist in unimaginable variety in both worlds, sustaining many food chains and playing a role in pollination and soil creation. In both worlds, there is controversy on where the ‘bug’ type ends and other types such as crustacean, mollusk, worm and jelly begin. Black World bugs are divided into three distinct categories based on the number of segments of their bodies. Though a fourth category, consisting of two segmented bug-like creatures with a more crustacean-like body construction, is put forth by some naturalists. This entry will provide an overview of category one bugs, though they are so varied that separate bestiaries detailing just these bugs have been published.

Category one bugs are so varied in their material, number of limbs, and abilities that until recently they were seen by Human naturalists as dozens of different categories, with the only commonality between them being they have only a single body segment that contains all limbs, sensory organisms and internal systems. Drid naturalists however have revealed a more striking commonality; they have no telepathic abilities. Whilst their thoughts are detectable to Drids (with great concentration) they cannot transmit or receive thoughts, and therefore it is impossible for a Drid to possess them or perceive the world through them. This limitation makes them the most mysterious bug, despite being the most common.

The largest known category one bug is the swept-up. This bug’s body is one giant segment up to 40cms tall usually covered in hard bug shell, that moves around on ten tiny legs at its base. These legs surround a mouth fed by multiple tentacles. During heavy rains though, it sheds its outer shell, revealing a soft body similar to that of a jelly. It will then go limp and allow itself to be swept away through the paths and roots of the Forest, eventually coming to a stop in a pile of swept up debris. It then quickly regrows its shell and will eat anything in its new surroundings, plant or flesh. Dead or alive. They are unable to discern between Black World and Green World organisms, and the Ramparossan explorer Palaro Jav Olin spent two days being slowly devoured by swept-ups after breaking his leg in a flash flood whilst exploring the Ramparossa Border Forest. He survived the encounter with the help of his Drid guides, but the digestive process of the swept-ups combined with such long-lasting contact with Black World organisms left him severely disfigured. His leg had to be amputated.   

There is great variety in the number of legs category one bugs can grow. Most stick to two or four, with the swept-up’s ten being on the high end. However, the colourful streamer has hundreds of legs on either side of its long, stringy body, similar to a millipede, but instead of being made of armoured segments, it is one long, soft body that is easily broken and regrown, and covered in tiny cilia that paralyse pray and move it to the mouth. Besides being excellent climbers, they can shoot a string of silk up to three metres, allowing them to crawl between large gaps in the Forest. They also glow to attract flying prey, with every individual having a slightly different colour.

Colourful Streamers gained worldwide fame when a Drid artist by the Stalax River Filter gathered up thousands of different coloured streamers during a Season of Darkness and cast a net between the river, causing the streamers to seemingly float above the river for five lunar-cycles, drawing visitors from around the world to marvel at the sight.

Silk is very common in category one bugs, though since Drids are unable to possess these bugs, raising these bugs and processing the silk takes specialized skills that very few Drids possess, making such Drids highly respected members of their Forests, and silk a valuable trading commodity between Forests.

One of the most notorious category one bugs amongst Humankind are the munchers. These six-legged shelled bugs greatly resemble Green World bugs. In particular, munchers from the Black Grasslands can be mistaken for Green World locust. In areas that border these grasslands, it is not uncommon for Humans to become sick after mistaking munchers for locust and easting them. Most famously, Queen Jira of the Kingdom of Avors was known to place large amounts of munchers into the harem kitchens to sabotage her rivals. When the King’s favourite concubine died of cross-world toxicity, she was discovered and executed.

There are so many category one bugs, that even Drids are constantly discovering new ones. For more information about all Black World bugs, refer to Greatest Bug Expert of the Western Forests’s Encyclopedia of Black World Bugs. This book, currently in its 74^th edition, is the life work of the renowned titular Drid Naturalist, written and translated along with generations of Human naturalists.