Drownmoths
Drownmoths are fluffy purple moth-like bugs that drift low over the salt flats, always on the hunt for anything with a liquid sheen. They lay their eggs in shallow, shimmering puddles, where the larvae float and cling like little tufts of violet lint until they pupate. A single drownmoth is harmless, but a hungry swarm can strip the moisture and sheen from skin, cloth, and gear in moments, leaving victims desiccated and ruined. Locals watch the horizon for that telltale violet haze, because once the air starts to sparkle, it is already time to run.
Appearance
Drownmoths are small, palm-sized moth-bugs with thick, velvety fur in shades of violet and bruised plum, tipped with a faint, oily shimmer. Their wings are broad and soft-edged, patterned like water stains, with ragged fringes that seem to drip light when they move. Up close, their eyes are oversized and glassy, and their curled mouthparts glint with a wet sheen, always slick from whatever liquid they have been drinking. When a flock settles, they look like someone shook out a wet purple cloak and all the loose fluff took flight.Habitat
Drownmoths cling to the damp edge of survival, haunting shallow salty puddles and any place where liquid stubbornly refuses to evaporate. By day they pack themselves into cool crevices to escape the heat, then pour out at dusk in soft, low clouds to drink from puddles, condensation, and any unlucky water-skin left uncorked.Diet & Ecological Role
Drownmoths live off liquid alone, sipping up water along with whatever salts, sugars, and trace nutrients are dissolved in it. They swarm toward any source of moisture they can reach, from puddles and sweat to spilled drinks and leaking pipes, stripping it dry until only crust and grit remain. This makes them easy, abundant prey for small carnivores like birds, lizards, and rodents, who snatch them from the air or skim them off puddle edges. At the same time, a large enough cloud of drownmoths can quietly kill larger creatures, desiccating them where they stand if they stumble into the swarm at the wrong moment.
Drownmoth by Lou
Basic Facts
- Classification: Beast, Insect
- Size: Tiny, Swarm
- Habitat: Sheen Basins of the Salt Flats
- Rarity: Rare
Conservation Status
Near Threatened (NT)
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