Sweetworms

Sweetworms split from their ancestors, diversifying into a new genus of shell-winged worm. They have a taste for all things sweet, including fruit, nectar, sap, and honey. Originating in Wallace as a result of the rise of ferries and thus of more abundant sweet berries, they rapidly spread all over Sagan 4. They were able to cross oceans to reach other landmasses because of floating flora on the open ocean (particularly fuzzpalm derivatives on the driftwood islands), and some species even inhabit the sky, feeding on the sap of flying flora. Their tongues can be retracted into their mouths, but they are usually seen with them out, always tasting around for something sweet to eat.

During flight, sweetworms curl their abdomens under their bodies so that they can see where they are going more easily. Their hind wings are smaller and help with stability while the middle wings do most of the work keeping them aloft. When on the ground, mucus on their underbelly helps them cling to surfaces and they crawl with a slow rippling of their segments. When they find a potential food source, they “tap” it a few times with their sharp-tipped tongue to pierce the surface and verify the sweet flavor. If it is to their liking, they will use their lips to form a seal and use the tongue to draw the sweet fluid into their mouth. They are somewhat of a pest to xenobees, as they will drink their honey supply and their armor makes it difficult for the xenobees to drive them off. Sometimes, they will mistake photosynthetic surfaces on plents for a food source, as the blood in these areas is sugar-rich; they generally learn of their mistake pretty quickly, as the plent will flick them off on detection.

Sweetworms breed several times a year and lay their eggs on flora. They are winged from hatching. This is true of most wingworms, with larvae such as those of flugworms being the derived state. Hatchlings will stretch their wings out as their carapace hardens so that they don’t dry into a useless shape, and they can fly within an hour. Species in regions with cold winters will often have a breeding frenzy in the fall where all adults breed and lay eggs which stay dormant over winter, and their springtime hatching creates a population boom that many insectivorous creatures take advantage of.

There are many species of sweetworm. They come in different colors for blending in with bark and stems, or sometimes to appear as a spot on a piece of fruit they are feeding from. Some are specialists for specific food sources, but most won’t pass up any sweet meal. Some species are important pollinators, flicking their tongues into the nectar but doing no harm to the flower, but there are also nectar thieves among the genus’ ranks which pierce nectaries from the side to drain them. They can be found just about anywhere with some kind of sweet food source, though they are rare in polar biomes.