Ruiner Moths (Diavolos dragotinea) are a species of draconic Devil.
.anatomy
Ruiner Moths have a lepidopteran appearance, reaching ~12 m in length. They have a carbon-fibre exoskeleton to support their weight, covered in soot-like setae that constantly shed. Their legs are bulky, with flexible claws on their tarsus. Their wings are very flexible and have a tattered cloth appearance, allowing the reach ~200 km/h in flight. Their mouth has a jaw-like outer structure, with both a mandible and a maxilla, their fangs being serrated extension of their exoskeleton, while also having an insect mandibular structure inner structure. Their main sensory organs are a pair or retractable, forward facing horn-like antennae, located where the eyes would normally be.
.behaviour
Ruiner Moths are naturally extremely aggressive, as will attack anything that is within perception range. This isn’t territorial behaviour, as they will periodically relocate themselves if they find themselves in a safe area. They will go out of their way just to attack things, stopping whatever they were doing and reordering their priorities just to jump other creatures. They’re solitary, will attack each other, and are capable of vocalisations such as roaring.
.abilities
Ruiner Moths leave behind small clouds of setae as they move. They can increase the amount of setae produces, producing increasingly larger and denser clouds, which can be launched towards their target. These setae are extremely unstable, and the Ruiner Moth can voluntarily choose to trigger them, turning the clouds into different types of explosions, from purely kinetic, to thermo-kinetic and even cryo-kinetic. The Ruiner Moth can control what type of setae it produces and when to trigger them. The denser the cloud, the bigger the explosion. Inhaling the setae is also toxic, and will lead to internal bleeding and asphyxiation, and they can still react to the external setae.
The horns of a Ruiner Moth are its main sensory organ. They can retract into the head when necessary, and allow them to smell and hear their surroundings, with a pair of muscles allowing spherical movement of the antennae. These antennae have a horn-like structure and durability, which allows them to ram and gore others with them. They also have a bite-force of ~8000 PSI.
Ruiner Moths have two pairs of long, thin, and very flexible coremata. These coremata are extremely dexterous and can be used as limbs, their tentacle-like structure allowing the Ruiner Moth to interact with its surroundings much more precisely. They are covered in numerous tactile hairs, which can be used to grip objects easier and as tactile sensory organs.
.reproduction
Ruiner Moths reproduce asexually. They lay clutches of a few eggs, individually covered in a very thick ootheca composed of nutritionally dense fibres. The larvae will consume the ootheca upon hatching, and will produce a sound which will repel other larvae until pupation.
.diet
Ruiner Moths are herbivorous, preferring fibrous plants. They’re regularly grazers, although they can also consume twigs, leaves, and roots of shrubs and trees, or even entire trees in a single sitting.