Batbee
| Batbee | ||
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| (Maniapis aranea) | ||
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| Information | ||
| Creator | Disgustedorite Other | |
| Week/Generation | 27/167 | |
| Habitat | West Wallace Veldt, Wallace Savanna, Wallace Tropical Scrub, Wallace Chaparral, Wallace Bush, Raptor Plains, Raptor Chaparral, Raptor Veldt, South Darwin Plains, South Darwin Chaparral, Dorite Chaparral, Darwin Bush, North Darwin Plains, Darwin Veldt, North Darwin Chaparral, Darwin Tropical Scrub, Dass Temperate Beach, Ninth Subtropical Beach, Jlindy Tropical Beach, Koopa Subtropical Beach, Javen Tropical Beach, Clarke Subtropical Beach, King Temperate Beach, Dorite Subtropical Beach, Ofan Tropical Beach, Chum Subtropical Beach, Iituem Temperate Beach | |
| Size | 1.5 cm long | |
| Primary Mobility | Unknown | |
| Support | Exoskeleton (Chitin) | |
| Diet | Nectarivore and Spores (Ferries, Rock Ferries, Cartainpalm, Coniflor, Cragmyr, Robust Arid Ferine, Scrubland Tubeplage, Feroak, Gecoba Tree, Carnosprawl, Carnurtain) | |
| Respiration | Semi-Active (Unidirectional Tracheae) | |
| Thermoregulation | Heterotherm (Basking, Muscle-Generated Heat, Heat-Trapping Fuzz); Regional Endotherm (Cephalic Segment and Abdomen) | |
| Reproduction | Sexual (Hermaphroditic, Eggs) | |
| Taxonomy | ||
| Domain Kingdom Subkingdom Phylum Class Subclass Order Suborder Superfamily Family Genus Species | Eukaryota Binucleozoa Symbiovermes (info) Thoracocephalia Optidorsalia Polyptera (info) Cataleipoptera Membranopennes Xenoapoidea Xenoapiculidae Maniapis Maniapis aranea | |
| Ancestor: | Descendants: |
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The batbee split from its ancestor. It has developed joints in its wings, controlled by the same tendons connected all the way at the base that deformed the wings of its ancestor. This is a similar development to that of the extinct hoverlar stinger, a non-xenobee batworm in the darbola lineage, though the batbee has longer wings and more joints. The first pair of wings is free from the wing sleeve so that they may be used primarily as forelegs. The way the tendons are arranged cause the jointed wing rods of the batbee to be pulled straight during the downstroke in flight, a coincidence related to the rods already being controlled by locking tendons in its ancestor that enabled it to develop the joints in the first place. The batbee prefers to go out in the mornings and evenings when there will be fewer predators.
The batbee nests in flowering trees, primarily ferries and rock ferries, and pollinates not just its home tree but other flora nearby. It prefers to pollinate flowers that are well away from the ground, and its jointed wings serve in part to aid it in staying in trees rather than falling to the ground where it will be eaten. However, when trees are out of season, it may visit smaller bushes and herbs instead, especially in the more open parts of its range. Along coasts it primarily pollinates cartainpalms and coastal carnoferns. Over winter in the colder parts of its range, and when flowers are out of season in general, it feeds on stored honey and spores, which are usually combined to make crumbly but easily-transported "bread". Its tongue has tiny hairs on it that aid in lapping up nectar and honey.
Much like its ancestor, the batbee is social but not eusocial and lives in communal nests constructed in trees. The nests are made of pieces of flora, bound together in silk, and disguised with bark or anything else they can find that looks just enough like it to fool a predator. Their free forelimbs aid them in carrying large pieces of material, so they can construct nests much faster than any other xenobee before them. In addition to fluttering through chambers, the batbee also quickly and easily climbs through the nest with little effort thanks to its wing structure. Similar to its ancestor, it is altruistic towards colony members.
The batbee breeds year-round and prefers to mate with members of other colonies to avoid inbreeding. Hatchlings are flightless but develop wing strength as they grow, until they become fully flighted and join the food-gathering force at 3 weeks of age.