Crystaldemon93 on DeviantArthttps://www.deviantart.com/crystaldemon93/art/Terrible-Arthropods-681376361Crystaldemon93

Deviation Actions

Crystaldemon93's avatar

Terrible Arthropods

Published:
7.5K Views

Description

MYRMIDONS
Common Names: Giant Ants, Underground Horrors, Swarm
Academic Name: Titanoformica Interitumens (Mind-destroying giant ant)
Clade: Hymenoptera
Lenght: Variable between castes
Weight: Variable between castes
Diet: Omnivorous
Intelligence: Sapient (Queens)
Abilities:
-Great physical strenght;
-First pair of limbs has hard, sharp claws meant for combat;
-May develop various mutations;
-Symbiotic relationship with virulent fungi;
-Highly mutagenic;

Myrmidons are a subterranian species of highly-evolved Ants. They swarm the underground by the thousands, building maze-like hives that extend for miles. How exactly these Arthropods came to be so specialized (and BIG) is not completely understood, but that may be largely due to the great intelligence and mutagenic capabilities of their Queens.
As with all Ants, Myrmidons are eusocial insects, meaning the society is composed of numerous individuals, each specialized in a particular job. Despite this, the extreme mutability of Myrmidons, united with the Queen's desire for a certain type of servant, has caused their castes to develop far beyond anything seen up to now.

Larvae

The basic caste of a colony, Larvae can mutate into any of the castes invented by their mother the Queen. Larvae require a lot of nutrients to grow, but the maturation process takes any time from a few hours to a whole day, depending on the target caste. Larvae also are the only caste able to generate a special kind of silk the workers use to grant stability to the hive’s structure.


Warriors

The backbone of any Myrmidon military operation, Warriors swarm out of their tunnels to claim more land and more lives in the name of the Queen. These flying menaces are equally deadly on land and in the air, equipped with deadly claws, strong mandibles and paralyzing stingers. While not the strongest of breeds, they are extremely versatile, and hordes of warriors can swarm and kill most targets in minutes.


Workers/Infestors

Myrmidons have developed an amazing symbiosis with a particular kind of fungus. The giant ants per se do not consume other creatures, unless in particular conditions, but take their remains back to the hive to be used as nourishment for the fungi, whom the ants will then eat. This job is all made by Workers, who collect material from other creatures and nurture the fungi. An “Infestor” is not a separate caste, but a Worker that has abandoned its gardening work to be used in battle. Carrying with it a great quantity of the fungus, the creature roams around, the spores from the fungi being continously released around the creature. Any living being inhaling the spores will start to feel sick in a matter of minutes, dying soon after as the fparasitic spores take root and feed on its body. This is a very simple way to spread the fungus should the hive be lacking. All Infestors, however, have a short lifespan, as the fungi will eventually consume them as well.


Diggers

These serpentine creatures are used mainly to build the tunnels of the hive. They seem to be a highly specialized variation of the Worker caste, so that the latter can completely dedicate itself to growing the fungi Myrmidons sustain themselves with. Diggers have short, blunt claws that enable them to tunnel through most substances at frightening speed. However, they not only limit themselves to house jobs, being quite happy to mount a surprise attack on unsuspecting enemies by bursting from the ground in a fury of dirt and claws. This also made them one of the most feared castes among other species.


Ravagers

Birthed only to defend the hive against great menaces, the gargantuan Ravagers are a frightening enemy. Able to tackle even beasts double their size with brute force, their long talons tearing through flesh and armor alike, they annhilate all menaces to the hive.

As fearsome as they are, Ravagers rarely if ever leave the vicinity of the hive, their main function being warding off other threats.


Drones

The winged consorts of the Queen, these male Myrmidons have the main duty to impregnate the ruler of the hive. However, not all of them receive the honor of mating with her majesty, whose pheromons can summon quite a number of males, who will then remain in the colony for the rest of their lives. The ‘non-attractive’ creatures will then be selected for the battlefield, and few of them lament such situation; swooping down from the skies in huge swarms, the males annhilate the enemies of their new family by spraying formic acid from their abdomens, a caustic liquid able to make an elephant run in pain. The most meritable of these males may then have another occasion to court the Queen.


Queen
The absolute ruler of a Myrmidon hive, the queen directs both the current members of the colony and the evolution of next generations. Gifted with Fae-scale powers and intellect worthy of a maSster genetist, a Myrmidon Queen is able to genetically modify the features its offspring will develop, basically limiting the number and variation of castes only to her own imagination.
As with other Ants, the queen starts off winged and slim. Young 'princesses', usually no more than 3-4 every summer, stay with their mother for a certain amount of time, usually a month, learning what they can on their powers and capabilities. After this brief apprenticeship, the winged Queens take to the air and go their separate directions. This could very well be the only time a Queen is seen on the surface, for once in founds a new colony, it’ll be very difficult to ever spot her again outside the hive. Myrmidon Queens are master telepaths, able to communicate with any being over vast distances. This overwhelming psychic power is thought to be the result of the creature (this extends to Fae folk as well) needing a way of communicating with other beings, which their oral cavity doesn’t allow. Unless they wish otherwise, their telepathy is quite “loud”, meaning all creatures at a certain distance from the Queen can perceive it, as if it were an actual voice. In the case of the Myrmidons, why they would “need” to communicate with creatures they see as food is an entirely different matter.

---------------------------------------------------------


KARKINOS
Common Names: Cancers, Killer Lobsters, Destroyers
Academic Name: Gigantocarcinos Saevus (giant ferocious crab) 
Clade: Pancrustacea
Lenght: Variable between castes
Weight: Variable between castes
Diet: Carnivorous
Intelligence: Instinctive, collective consciousness
Abilities:
-Great physical strenght;
-Hard claws can rend stone;
-Perceive the world through "psychic echolocation"
-Collective consciousness makes them more aware as it expands;
-Their linked minds can disrupt psychic energy around them;
-Dominant individuals are able to generate disrupting psychic waves;

Bugs, and arthropods in general, are terrifying to most people. But those lamenting for a small roach in their rooms have never met the unspeakable horror, the utter fright the creatures simply known as “Karks” cause. These creatures value their stomachs more than good manners, so they are always on the hunt, and the thing about them is that, even having no eyes, they will always know where you are.

Their physical features, with sharp fangs, pincers and scarlet armored bodies would be scary enough, yet the most disturbing part has yet to come. Karkinos, related to Fae, are psychic creatures.Their mind constantly emit wave-like energy that allows them to map their surroundings, and they can perceive the brainwaves of other creatures. As scary as that sounds, that’s not even the most amazing thing about these beasts.

While being separate individuals, Karkinos share a part of their consciousness with their whole species, their minds resonating with their calls to one another. So if a lone Kark is encountered, be assured that it is alone just temporarily. As more Karkinos reunite, their psychic emanations get stronger, and that is the main reason males are found banded together: only a psychic signal potent enough to reach close to the Stratosphere can hope to draw the attention of the great sky-sailing females, colloquially known as ‘Queens’, though Karkinos are not eusocial creatures.

The presence of so many linked minds creates a space in the vicinity of the horde where the thoughts of non-Karks become blurry, their perceptions altered and the mind resonating with the screeches of dozens of beastly thoughts other organisms can never hope to understand. This disruption field even affects magic, making its use to fight Karks more difficult.


Larva

Released by the airborne Queens, these small pests glide down from the heights their mother loves to frequent. Given that the great Queens nearly never descend from the clouds, it takes weeks for the little ones, so small and light, to come down to earth. On the way sown, they mounch on small birds, insects, anything they can find that’s edible. To say they are capable of controlled gliding would be a bit too far-fetched, but they are capable of a limited amount of control on their fall. By the time they manage to reach the ground, they have grown to the Jouvenile stage.


Jouvenile

The young Karks are pretty much what you’d expect from a big insect/crustacean; a medium, compact animal enveloped in a resistant exoskeleton and armed with sharp pincers. What one might not expect is the sheer energy these creatures display, leaping and running around like an armored ball on steroids. The creatures are now in a feeding frenzy: they have been in the sky for weeks, with barely enough to sustain themselves, and need a lot of energy to grow up. The psychic link of their species is already in function, prompting the little arthropods to reunite in large numbers before going for meals. They are also attracted by adult males’s psychic presence, so seeing an adult surrounded by jouveniles is a clear signal that things are getting out of hand.


Adult Male

Man-sized monsters able to crawl, run and somehow even actively fly (possibly partial levitation) male Karks are soldiers ready to go and fight a war. And war is what they do, as they are an aggressive breed, though they tend to avoid fights that won’t definetly be in their favor. That is, until they form a so-called conclave. A conclave is a number of more than 20 male Karkinos in one place, which creates a psychic signal strong enough to reach the great females. To act as a beacon, the strongest male will undergo a sight mutation to transform into the so-called “King” Karkinos.


Adult Female

Serpentine terror with an appetite to match, female Karks can be found burrowing deep in the earth or swimming in either fresh or salty water. Surprisingly elusive, they are quite hard to find despite their size and temperament. Adult females are more likely to perceive the call of adult males, but they may very well ignore it, as the male’s target are the Queens, and the land-bound females are not yet sexually mature. Thogh, at least some will always show up to the places other Karks reunite.


King

Leader among the males, the King is the most likely of the Karks to fertilize the Queen once she descends. Bloated with muscles and hardened exoskeleton and pincers, this male has lost the ability to fly in exchange for strenght and more cunning. He may very well be leader, but once the queen makes landfall, all the males will fight for the right to reproduce.


Queen

A “Queen” Karkinos is actually an ancient, sexually-mature female that has left land-bound style of life behind her for good. Queens live among the clouds, feasting on Sky Squids, birds and even young Dragons. These females practically never touch the ground again, save for reproduction period. The queen has a crushing psychic presence, her merely standing close to another creature is enough to cause a serious migrane. Once she descends, she is the absolute ruler of the conclave, commanding it as she pleases, and eating those who displease her. Once she mated with the most worthy of males, what to do depends on the individual queen; she may very well leave right away, or pass more time with the conclave, though she won’t stay grounded for long. Queens are formidably strong, having Dragon-level strenght and the same intentions to use it.


–-----------------------------------


REDCAP
Common Names: Bug Dwarfs, Killer Dwarfs, Blood Bugs
Academic Name: Manticora Sanguigalerus (Blood-capped beetle )
Clade: Adephaga
Height: 40 cm
Weight: 3-4 kilograms
Diet: Hematophagous
Intelligence: Sapient
Abilities:
-Resistant exoskeleton;
-Right arm has a scythe-like protrusion used to inflict damage on prey;
-Great agility;
-Limited flight;

These creepy members of the Fae people are matter of horror stories. Redcaps are beetles with frightening appearance and an attitude to match. They drink blood to survive, and the “cap” that is their namesake is a big, inflatable bag where the Redcap stores the blood it took. Given that they like dark, damp places that are often isolated, such as abandoned buildings or huts, they must keep their fill in case no food shows up. Their right arm has become a sharp spear, to slash at prey with deadly precision.

As all Fae, Redcaps are intelligent and telepathic, but are about as sociable as a hungry cannibal on a beach, so most people tend to avoid having contacts with them.


TREEMAN

There just for scale and cause BUGS!

NOTE: THIS FREAKIN PIECE TOOK FOREVER! But I can finally update it! I can imagine you people will see where my inspiration comes from, while older friends may recognize old projects of mine. Eh well, have a good read!

Image size
10573x8071px 5.05 MB
Make
Apple
Model
iPhone 6s
Shutter Speed
1/33 second
Aperture
F/2.2
Focal Length
4 mm
ISO Speed
50
Date Taken
May 14, 2017, 2:09:54 AM
© 2017 - 2024 Crystaldemon93
Comments19
Join the community to add your comment. Already a deviant? Log In