Svarati

Name: Svarati

They were created by DarkAlliGator.

Body Type: Tiny insectoids.

Average Height: 0.5cm

Number of Limbs: 10, 14 including wings.

Intelligence: Dumb, usually follow the hivemind which is controlled by the Queen.

Diet: Literally anything.

Lifespan: about 12 hours.

Appearance: Small black fly-like insects with 10 legs and two pairs of long, thin wings (like a dragonfly's). Large, extremely strong pincers. The Queen is bright blue rather than black, and has much smaller, weaker pincers.

Physiology: As mentioned before, the pincers are very strong. They can chew through pretty much anything. The svarati form terrifying swarms of billions of individuals, all obeying the Queen, who stays near the centre of the swarm where it's safest. The swarm flies at random and eats anything that enters its path. Even huge animals can be reduced to scraps of flesh in seconds.

Origins: Since individually they are very small, weak and vunerable, swarming proved to be an effective way to survive. This behaviour escalated into a terrifying extreme.

Sexes/Reproduction: Egg laying happens near the end of the svarati's short lives. They gather in an enclosed space, somewhere which is unlikely to be discovered by predators. They can reproduce sexually or asexually; as long as the Queen and one other svarati survives, a whole swarm of eggs can be produced. The Queen always reproduces asexually, laying a single egg that will develop into an exact clone of herself. The other svarati lay their eggs around the Queen's egg, protecting it. Once all the eggs are laid, the Queen secretes a sticky fluid over the eggs, which hardens and provides even more protection. Shortly after this is completed, the swarm begins to die. The eggs can lay dormant for hundreds of years until the Queen's egg hatches. This releases pheromones which brings the other eggs out of dormancy, so every egg hatches at once. The new born svarati chew their way through the protective layer, and a new swarm emerges to ravage anything nearby.

Habitat/Rarity: Swarms are rare (Occur perhaps every 50 years or so) due to the long dormancy period of the eggs, but each swarm contains billions of individuals. Svarati are found across the globe.If anyone found a deposit of svarati eggs, they would be expected to destroy them immediately to prevent the catastrophic swarm. However the eggs are usually laid in obscure, hidden locations to prevent exactly this.