Stinkers

Stinkers split from their ancestor and diversified. They have returned to herbivory and modified their leech-like three-jawed mouths for chewing. They are named for a trait which they inherited from their ancestors; when disturbed by a predator, they will fly away, spraying odorous fluid behind them. Like a skunk, this leaves a strong stench on their unlucky attacker, which then might itself become the target of predators. If the spray gets in the eyes, it can also cause temporary blindness. They never fly far, but they rarely need to—most predators will think twice before bothering them again.

Stinkers are generally found in small ground flora such as “grasses” and small shrubs, making them most numerous in the plains and shrublands. They can also be found in younger stretches of forest that have not yet been taken over by shade trees, feeding on the undergrowth. They are less common, but not nonexistent, in deserts, where they flutter between patches of flora. They cannot be found in trees because they are too weak of fliers to consistently scale and stay in them. They cannot survive cold winters, so species in such regions have eggs that can lay dormant in soil until spring arrives.

Though primarily herbivorous, there are circumstances where stinkers will consume meat. When they breed, they will seek out protein sources to help them produce their eggs. This can lead to them scavenging for fresh meat from carcasses or open wounds. Species which mostly eat crystal entourage swordgrasses don’t usually need to do this, as the crystals are very rich in protein.

There are many species of stinker. They nearly all have warning coloration, which manifests in mostly black coloration with white, yellow, or green stripes or spots on their backs, somewhat like a skunk, as well as bright colors on the undersides of their wings. Species which mostly eat black flora such as sunstalks may be entirely white. Many species are generalists, but some will specialize for a specific genus of flora; for example, there are species which specialize in ferry bushes and have more robust jaws for chewing through the tougher leaves. They speciate too readily for every single one to be feasibly recorded. They are rare in polar biomes, but they can still be found shockingly far south, their ability to remain dormant in eggs allowing them to colonize small pockets of the polar barrens where flora can grow in the summer.

Though they are existent in islands very close to Wallace, because they can’t fly far, stinkers have failed to colonize Koseman.