Virexian Thornfly

The Virexian Thornfly lives in the western jungles of southern Idalka in the realm of The Lost Retreat. At best it is an unpleasant pest but potentially, if a swarm is encountered, it can be deadly.   Superficially, the Virexian Thornfly is a beautiful if sinister insect, glowing with iridescent chitin, and presenting a rainbow sheen of colour that seems to glow on the gossamer wing surfaces and in the twin bowls of its large glassy eyes. It is surprisingly large, up to two centimetres in length, with multiply joined and barbed legs. The male possesses a peculiarly painful and venomous sting which is used to paralyse small animals. Females will lay their eggs under the skin of the unfortunate victims, drawn to the pheromones given off by the site of the poisonous injection. If stung, it is advisable to immediately retreat to a place of safety and use selected ointments and sealed wound dressings to prevent the even more unpleasant consequences of a follow up attack.   Although they will typically only sting relative small native herbivores living in the jungle understory, sometimes a swarm of Virexian Thornflies can take down much larger prey, including unwary humans. There have been several notorious cases of explorers coming to an exquisitely painful end due to an unexpected encounter with these lethal flies.