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MACTERA
I’ll confess, I’m somewhat perplexed by these flying arthropods. Not in any practical terms such as how to kill them, that’s straight-forward enough, but rather what role they’re supposed to fill in the environment and what their social structure is like. I have a few hypotheses, none of them especially pleasant. First let’s look at the different varieties. Most ubiquitous are the Spawn, which are both absurdly fast and have incredibly caustic acid spit. Then there are the Grabbers, which, well, grab their victim and carry it off to be dropped. Largest are the Goo Bombers, which drop grenade-like globs of slime at threats. Now, initially I believed that these were all different but closely related species of animal, however I’m beginning to suspect that that may not be the case.
My first hypothesis is that these are all various breeds of worker for a bee-like hive, similar to the Glyphids. However, my main issue with this is that we have yet to find any indications of their nests or theoretical queens. If this hypothesis is true, then it would imply either a particularly secluded type of nest which will be downright nightmarish to exterminate for our intrepid miners, or a skill at hiding it which is downright alarming. That said, I don’t particularly like this idea, largely because it has too many unknown quantities, whereas my second one is easier to explain, if disgusting.
The other options is that these are male and female members of the species at different points in their life cycle. Mactera Spawn are immature females (or perhaps both genders), Goo Bombers are mature females, and Grabbers are males. Such sexual dimorphism isn’t especially uncommon in nature, and in fact this would be rather conservative compared to certain designs. What tipped me off to this? That damned annoying whistle of the Grabbers. See, it seems like such a liability for it to make that noise in battle, particularly considering its primary tactic of predation. Then it hit me: it’s a mating call! That’s right, the Grabber isn’t trying to prey on the dwarves it finds, it’s trying to… go on a nuptual flight. Once it realizes the armored dwarf in its arms isn’t a female, it drops them. So, why does it keep going for dwarves after dropping them then? Well, simply put, our miners are constantly covered in pheromones from the bugs they slaughter, stronger than what a single Goo Bomber could put out, and nobody said Mactera were smart. Relatedly, what the Goo Bombers are likely spitting out is egg sacs, and the goo we find in the Fungus Bogs is likely actually a Mactera nest. Like I said, this is a fairly disgusting hypothesis, but considering the foul nature of these creatures to begin. The only anomaly in this is the Ice Bomber, which I’ll admit does shoot something a hole in my hypothesis, though it could also be a mutation to better hide the egg sacks in the frozen environment.
Regardless, I’m not certain if there is an effective long-term solution to these pests (besides the usual method). If the nest hypothesis is true, it will be quite a nuisance to deal with, moreso than the Glyphids. If the latter hypothesis is true, then the only effective method would be to systematically target the males (since Goo Bombers tend to lay eggs on death anyways). Either way, I suspect extermination of the Glyphids will need to wait until the other threats of the world have been dealt with. Though… maybe if we create a type of lure…
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