Caladron

May you rest in the shadow of old Mur'Hilah - Hafarian Curse

  The Caladron is likely a cousin of the Silver Antlion, having a similarly colored carapace in it's first life phase. Young Caladrons are stout but winged bugs that resemble a cross between a crab and a jumping spider who sail off the top of dunes or cliffs, hunting for creatures to land on and eat. The Caladron's mouth is on the bottom of it's body and it uses its legs to push food up into itself. As they grow and mature to about 6 feet in length, they males lose their ability to fly and their carapace becomes soft and incredibly supple. The enter a period of frenzied feeding and bile production which inflates their carapace with noxious gasses until it becomes a large balloon of tissue which pulls the Caladron aloft. It sails the deserts seemingly living off of sunlight, releasing fertilizing spores over areas where female Caladrons (which never go aloft and keep their hard shell) lay their eggs beneath the sand.   The Caladron may be a distant relative to the Silver Antlion or possibly a stage in its lifecycle.    Short, stubby legs on the bottom of the Caladron resemble those of the antlion, but the rest of its body is a massive balloon.  Those who have carefully watched the Caladron believe that the legs feed certain kinds of sand into a mouthlike orifice on the creature's bottom which it then combines with a noxious gas to create a huge balloon that warms in the sun, lofting the Caladron above the desert.   Caladrons live mostly in hot deserts such as those of Qabir, but they are also found in northeastern Enkar and have been sighted in cold deserts. They are thought to originate from the Crawling Deserts of Athwei.   Lifespan   4 years   Height   60 to 80 feet high   Weight   800 to 2500 stones