Bleeder Worm

The bleeder worm has replaced its ancestor in Nuke Tropical Rainforest. It has developed a parasitic and short life. With the rainforest brimming with competition for the butcher worm it started relying solely on flesh for food. The worms would use their key senses to find a live creature. Once they’ve found their prey they would use their antlers to cut at the flesh and feast. Over the generations this has advanced and has given rise to the bleeder worm.

The bleeder worm has a short and dangerous life. It will spend most of it embedded in the flesh of any large creature. It now only has two antlers which it uses to break up the flesh. This is nothing more than irritation to the creature but it will try to get rid of the worm by scratching or rubbing against a hard surface. The worm has two ways to combat this. Its eyes are still on the outside of the creature’s body and when it sees something coming towards it, it will shrink as far into the wound as it can and press against the skin. It has also formed a symbiotic relationship with the newly evolved fumeballs.

The fumeballs grow around the worm and give off a strong and repellent smell. If the creature tries to lick the wound the taste the fumeballs give it will be unbearable, forcing the creature to leave to wound (and the worm) alone. However, the creature can still scrape the worm out on a rock. Because of its short life the bleeder worm has modified its reproduction. Eggs are produced constantly throughout its life. By producing so many eggs they increase the chance of some of them reaching maturity. The eggs they are scattered around the forest floor.

Once the worms hatch they are already sexually active. Their first task is to find another worm and mate. The egg-baring gender of the worm has evolved a new organ that stores the original gametes of the partner. The organ can reproduce the cells over and over again by mitosis thus making an endless supply of gametes for the worm enabling them to produce eggs all their life.

The larvae only move around at night in an attempt to find sleeping prey. Eggs are also laid with a few small fumeballs attached which will start to grow once a worm has found its host. The worms try to find soft skin usually in folds of skin, around eyes etc. Unless larvae can find a host within three days they will run out of energy and die. The bleeder worm will only eat fresh food, preventing young worms from embedding themselves into any carcasses.