Kettle Bug
Found on the many plains of Zemlya, these small insects feed on the blood of the larger creatures roaming across the fields. Averaging 2 centimetres in length these little creatures live in burrows until they need to come out to feed.
Kettle Bugs got their name from the ISS scout who first documented the insect. In his report the scout noted that the insects reminded him of an ancient water boiling device his Grandmother kept. The Kettle Bug's tail contains a small bone that acts as a blade. Next to the bone is a small sac that excretes a mild venom that numbs any cuts the Kettle Bug makes with its tail. This then allows the insect to take its fill of blood from the victim using its proboscis nose.
Most travellers across Zemlya's plains would be unlucky enough to get one or two bites from these critters each day however for two weeks in high summer the Kettle Bugs swarm for breeding season. Most Zemlya natives avoid the plains during this time as the Kettle Bug swarms have been known to cause the death by blood loss of those not fully protected.
The Kettle Bug weighs only a few grams and have an average lifespan of two Zemlya years. The burrows the insect lives in are on average 30 to 40 centimetres in depth and there is only ever one bug in each burrow. The bug sits at the entrance to its burrow until a victim wanders by, only retreating into the burrow for the night. Female Kettle Bugs lay one to two eggs each year. It has been discovered that a small mite has a taste for the Kettle Bug eggs and Sukhoyan scientists are investigating if the mites can be used to control or even eradicate the bug.
Kettle Bug Stats
Size: 1 hit (nothing)
Type: Carnivore/Pouncer
Attacks: Stinger
Damage: 1
Abilities: Numb
Climate/Terrain: Warm plains
Organisation: Individual