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| sophonts:megarhyssa [2026-06-22 05:25] – update plural form and length measurements halian | sophonts:megarhyssa [2026-07-27 09:20] (current) – halian |
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| ===== Venom ===== | ===== Venom ===== |
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| Megarhyssa ovipositors, in addition to being used to deposit eggs on the crew of the ships they capture, can also be used as stingers, injecting venom into the target. They can control the composition of their venom, and concoct several different vena at will, all of which are fiendishly complex, littered with //polydnavira// (a family of insect vira integrated into wasp genomes) endogenous to the individual megarhyssa, and ever evolving to avert the development of natural antivena; megarhyssai will often deploy aphrodisiac formulae when courting others. Megarhyssa venom can be incredibly potent, with a single bubble's worth of some formulae being able to incapacitate a dragon. | Megarhyssa ovipositors, in addition to being used to deposit eggs on the crew of the ships they capture, can also be used as stingers, injecting venom into the target. The species' venom is fiendishly complex, littered with //polydnavira// (a family of insect vira integrated into wasp genomes) endogenous to the individual megarhyssa, and ever evolving to avert the development of natural antivena. Megarhyssa venom cannot kill a sophont alone; it originally evolved to paralyze prey items during oviposition, and is still used to incapacitate. |
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| When deploying venom, megarhyssai produce orders of magnitude more of it than the relevant glands can hold, requiring them to use their bubble as a holding chamber, whereupon it inflates into a sphere instead of a flat circle; this often requires them to discard unused venom by “spraying” it out of their ovipositors. | Megarhyssai are immune to their own vena. It takes a megarhyssa anywhere from several hours to several days to be able to produce new venom, depending on the desired formula and potency. Some megarhyssai are capable of producing psionically (or, it is believed, even magically) potent vena; their shells are marked with blue, purple, or other exotic colors as a warning of this psionic power. |
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| megarhyssai are immune to their own vena, and have been seen contorting their bodies to drink from their ovipositors-turned-stingers; the purpose of this ritual is unknown. It takes a megarhyssa anywhere from several hours to several days to be able to produce new venom, depending on the desired formula. Some megarhyssai are capable of producing psionically (or, it is believed, even magically) potent vena; their shells are marked with blue, purple, or other exotic colors as a warning of this psionic power. | |
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| Some megarhyssai have two tails and, if female or //ažaras//, two ovipositors. | Some megarhyssai have two tails and, if female or //ažaras//, two ovipositors. |
| ===== Diet ===== | ===== Diet ===== |
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| megarhyssai prefer to eat fruit, cereals, and root vegetables, as well as most any other starchy food; honeydew and sweet potatoes are particular delicacies to them. However, they are omnivorous in practice, especially after long stretches of privation. | Megarhyssai prefer to eat fruit, cereals, and root vegetables, as well as most any other starchy food; honeydew and sweet potatoes are particular delicacies to them. However, they are omnivorous in practice, especially after long stretches of privation. |
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| ===== Oviposition ===== | ===== Oviposition ===== |
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| The most fascinating aspect of the megarhyssan reproductive cycle is the ovipositing behavior of the adult female wasps. Once a female has successfully mated, she must first locate a host inside a suitable substrate, or place one there herself. megarhyssai seem to prefer sapient and sophont prey. Exactly how females sense these hosts in a manner suitable for triggering an egglay trance is currently unknown, but experts speculate that it is either via olfaction or auditory cues, in both of which realms their sensory apparatus is particularly keen. | The most fascinating aspect of the megarhyssan reproductive cycle is the ovipositing behavior of the adult female wasps. Once a female has successfully mated, she must first locate a host inside a suitable substrate, or place one there herself. Megarhyssai seem to prefer sapient and sophont prey. Exactly how females sense these hosts in a manner suitable for triggering an egglay trance is currently unknown, but experts speculate that it is either via olfaction or auditory cues, in both of which realms their sensory apparatus is particularly keen. |
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| Female atratans have the longest ovipositors of any megarhyssa clade, ranging from about 22-26 feet (6.68-8.02 m) long, and can parasitize larvae burrowed up to 24 feet (7.36 m) in hardwood. A membranous pouch at the abdomen's tip holds the looped ovipositor while the female lays eggs. This provides support and stability while the stylus tip penetrates the wood. | Female atratans have the longest ovipositors of any megarhyssa clade, ranging from about 22-26 feet (6.68-8.02 m) long, and can parasitize larvae burrowed up to 24 feet (7.36 m) in hardwood. A membranous pouch at the abdomen's tip holds the looped ovipositor while the female lays eggs. This provides support and stability while the stylus tip penetrates the wood. |
| ====== Life cycle ====== | ====== Life cycle ====== |
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| megarhyssai often, but don't always, mate as part of the process of Emergence from the substrate into which they were oviposited, at which point their life is considered to begin, as their larvae and pupae are nonsapient. Males tend to swarm the sites of female Emergence, detected by the chewing sounds they make as they eat through the substrate into which they were laid, and mating outside that event or immediately thereafter is rare. Virgin females lay haploid eggs, which will Emerge as their sons; mated females lay diploid eggs, which will Emerge as their daughters. Their eggs are ectoparasitoids, oviposited directly on the host, one egg per prey item. While still inside the eggs, the megarhyssai develop into larvae. Upon hatching, the larvae emerge and begin feeding on the host. | Megarhyssai often, but don't always, mate as part of the process of Emergence from the substrate into which they were oviposited, at which point their life is considered to begin, as their larvae and pupae are nonsapient. Males tend to swarm the sites of female Emergence, detected by the chewing sounds they make as they eat through the substrate into which they were laid, and mating outside that event or immediately thereafter is rare. Virgin females lay haploid eggs, which will Emerge as their sons; mated females lay diploid eggs, which will Emerge as their daughters. Their eggs are ectoparasitoids, oviposited directly on the host, one egg per prey item. While still inside the eggs, the megarhyssai develop into larvae. Upon hatching, the larvae emerge and begin feeding on the host. |
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| These wasps remain in their larval form throughout the winter, continuing to feed on their host meal. In the spring they pupate within the host burrow, undergo a complete metamorphosis, and Emerge as adults in the summer. | These wasps remain in their larval form throughout the winter, continuing to feed on their host meal. In the spring they pupate within the host burrow, undergo a complete metamorphosis, and Emerge as adults in the summer. |
| ====== Society ====== | ====== Society ====== |
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| megarhyssai, both standard and tauric, are space pirates who board starcraft and return them to their territory, thence to use the crew for incubation, as their original prey species are long extinct. Their own starcraft are notable for massive interior spaces and control surfaces meant to be manipulated by their mouthparts and/or ovipositors. Tauric megarhyssai are often leaders of their bands. Some bands are known to board ships and engage in superfluous courtship displays for the sole purpose of entrancing safìr with their pheromones and leading them back to their own craft. | Megarhyssai, both standard and tauric, are space pirates who board starcraft and return them to their territory, thence to use the crew for incubation, as their original prey species are long extinct. Their own starcraft are notable for massive interior spaces and control surfaces meant to be manipulated by their mouthparts and/or ovipositors. Tauric megarhyssai are often leaders of their bands. Some bands are known to board ships and engage in superfluous courtship displays for the sole purpose of entrancing safìr with their pheromones and leading them back to their own craft. |
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| Some megarhyssai keep //gholáréi// (sg. //gholárí//), a furred mammal similar to a Terran fox, as pets. | Some megarhyssai keep //gholáréi// (sg. //gholárí//), a furred mammal similar to a Terran fox, as pets. |
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