Uniwingworms

Uniwingworms split from their ancestor and diversified. Contrary to their name, they do not have only one wing nor only one pair of wings. In fact, in a rare case of atavism, they actually have all twelve ancestral wings. However, the wings are all zippered together, like barbs on a feather, producing a single pair of flight surfaces. All the wings making up the “compound wing” grant them great flexibility, similar to the wings of a batworm. This makes them stronger and better fliers than most wingworms, and the broad surface allows them to soar somewhat like a terran butterfly. They have switched to frugivory, biting distinctive triangular holes in larger fruits and sucking out flesh with their leech-like mouth structure. If there is no fruit available for whatever reason, they remain capable of consuming detritus.

Uniwingworms are one of the several kinds of wingworm that fly backwards, abdomen-first, to better see where they are going. They will land on top of a fruit, abdomen-up, allowing them to watch for predators while they nibble. They have replaced their odorous fluid with a bitter one secreted from a gland only visible on close inspection, which they spread over themselves rather than spraying out. This makes them taste bad, so some predators will leave them alone. However, their defense isn’t perfect, so they must always keep an eye—or six—out.

Uniwingworms can bite through fruit with fairly thick skin. This often attracts the attention of sweetworms, some species of which will follow uniwingworms to lap up the sweet juices that dribble out of the fruits that they would otherwise be incapable of consuming. The uniwingworms tolerate this, as they themselves primarily consume the flesh.

Uniwingworms breed several times a year and lay their eggs in soil. Like other wingworms, juvenile uniwingworms are capable of flight just like the adults. After hatching, they climb up onto flora and stretch their wings out, separated rather than joined, so that the barbs on the wings can harden into the correct shape. Once dry, the wings zip together with only a little bit of shuffling.

Uniwingworms are migratory. They cannot survive cold winters, so in the fall, temperate species will migrate to the tropics or subtropics, sometimes crossing the ocean to do so using their ability to soar. Those in Drake and Dingus migrate to Darwin and Ramul, those in Lamarck migrate to Barlowe, those in Fermi migrate to Raptor, and those in Vonnegut and Koseman migrate to the Driftwoods. When spring arrives, they migrate back to take advantage of the fruiting season and remain until the following fall. No species can survive alpine or subpolar conditions.

There are many species of uniwingworm. Strong fliers capable of soaring and with a fairly untapped niche for their size range, they have spread to many landmasses through both island hopping and taking advantage of floating flora. They usually have coloration that allows them to hide among flora. Some species have preferences for specific kinds of fruit, such as only consuming shroom berries.