Originis/Fauna/Songsilk Mothmare

Fauna

Songsilk Mothmare

Appearance Full

The Songsilk Mothmare crosses moonlit meadows on a thirty-centimeter wingspan that reads, at first glance, as a drift of mother-of-pearl in motion. Four membranous wings are scaled in opalescent white that breaks into prismatic flickers, and at the trailing edge each wing carries a single deep-indigo eye-spot that strobes at 740 Hz during mating swarms beneath Pale Sister. The thorax is silver-velvet, downed in fine setae that catch dew, and a feathered antenna sweeps a hand-span on either side, tasting chord-pheromone over kilometers. Compound eyes the color of ground amethyst tile the small head, and a coiled proboscis unfurls to drink the nectar of resonance-flowers. The abdomen tapers, banded indigo and silver, and ends in a tuft of song-silk fibres the moth releases on the breeze to navigate by sound. In flight the wingbeat itself plays a faint chord that other moths thread into a wider community-melody, the meadow turning briefly into an instrument made of insects.

Lore

Cael fliers and Myrr foragers both keep night-meadow vigils to dream beneath a Mothmare swarm; the prophetic dreams woven by the chord are mostly nonsense, but once a generation a true vision crosses, and that dreamer becomes a chord-augur consulted by both subtypes. Lovers exchange a single song-silk fibre as a betrothal token, since the strand only sings if the moth that spun it died on a moonlit night.

Details

Name
Songsilk Mothmare
Scientific Name
Lepidoptera psithyros
Fauna Class
insect-analog
Order
Lepidoptera
Family
Genus
Body Plan
typical insect with four broad wings
Covering Type
scaled wings, fine silver setae on thorax
Wing Type
membranous with chord-resonant scales
Luminescence Desc
wing-eye-spots strobe indigo at 740 Hz during mating swarms beneath Pale Sister
Metamorphosis Desc
Activity Cycle
nocturnal
Migration Notes
Dormancy Details
Communication Method
wingbeat chord-tones harmonizing across the swarm
Territoriality
Venom Description
Venom Delivery
Poison Description
Chemical Defense Desc
Camouflage Type
Domestication History
Hunting Method
Familiar Details
Cultural Significance
Population Estimate
Conservation Status
Size Min Kg
0.04
Size Max Kg
0.12
Length Min Cm
18
Length Max Cm
32
Limb Count
6
Lifespan
0.5
Max Lifespan
1
Maturity Age
Gestation Months
Intelligence Level
1

Lists

Color Patterns
mother-of-pearl wingsindigo eye-spotssilver thorax
Diet
nectarivore
Prey Types

Material Uses

Sacred To
MyrrCael

Flags

Has BioluminescenceYes
MetamorphosisNo
MigratesNo
HibernatesNo
Problem SolvingNo
Tool UseNo
CommunicatesYes
Has VenomNo
Has PoisonNo
Has Electric OrganNo
Has EcholocationNo
Has InfrasoundNo
Has Chemical DefenseNo
Has Magic AbilityYes
Has Dimensional AbilityNo
Has TelepathyNo
Can Regenerate Body PartsNo
Can CamouflageNo
Is DomesticatedNo
Is Beast Of BurdenNo
Is RideableNo
Is Food SourceNo
Is Used For MaterialsNo
Is SacredNo
Is HuntedNo
Is PetNo
Is Magic FamiliarNo
Is ExtinctNo