Bug Theory (the creatures; not errors)

[SmartyPants]

I think the bugs in the Telepath Universe are eusocial like ants and bees. The Bug Queens, like ant queens and bee queens, are the mothers of all the bugs.  Shadow Bugs and Nymphs are the same species, but they each have different roles in the colony. Bugs are in almost every region of Cera Bella. Each region has its own Bug Queen and its own colony. There is likely three bug queens; one in the Deeper Downs, one in the Great Forest, and one in the Ashwan Desert.  When a queen dies, one of her pupa would grow to replace her.


The Bug Queen is the mother of all bugs. She lays the eggs that are the first stage in all the bugs' lives. All the eggs will hatch to become larva. Most larvas will become pupas and evolve into Nymphs, but some specially feed larva will become Bug Queens after their pupa stage. When the larvas metamorphose into Nymphs, its newly developed brain gives it psy capabilities like Mega Shield. Nymphs are responsible for taking care of eggs and larva. They are also in charge of healing and shielding other members of the colony. A small number of Nymphs will mate with the Bug Queen. After the Nymphs stage is the Shadow Bug stage. When they become Shadow Bugs, their brains become more primitive and incapable of using shields. The Nymph's blue exoskeleton is molted for a thinner black shell. The new exoskeleton may not be as strong, but it helps the predator camouflage into its dark environment. While the Nymph stage is responsible for healing and nurturing the colonies, the Shadow Bug stage is suppose to hunt for food, to protect the colony, and to dig more territory. As predators, Shadow Bugs are better at attacking then the other stages (except for the Queen).

[Ertxiem]

It doesn't make much sense that the Shadow Bugs have the responsibility to protect the colony, since they have a thinner exoskeleton and are weaker than the Nymphs. Perhaps there are Soldier Bugs as well, stronger and with thicker exoskeleton and perhaps having also psy attacks.

The problem with the Soldier Bugs theory is that we didn't saw any of them in TRPG2... perhaps we went too quickly through the tunnels and managed to skip the soldiers.

[KZ]

Well, Ertxiem, there is something inteeresting that came up in the new enemies thread which just might address the issue: the Void Bug, proposed by steelfist. Effectively, it is an upgrade to a Shadow Bug in a sense that those bugs are simply older Shadow Bugs and are much more experienced, one of the most successful hunters, fighters or simply good bug specimens, who are taken with the task of protecting the nest from significant dangers. And the reason why we dont' see any of those bugs in Deeper Downs because the colony there is relatively yong, such that there are no Shadow Bugs who have already reached such a stage of maturity and experience where they can be considered as Void Bugs.

[Zackirus]

Speaking of Bugs, I went and greated my own bug: The Glare (seen in the new enemy ideas) and after this I thought, hey if their are 3 queens (at least to Im2smart4u) shouldn't we design more bug queens and bus to go with this............

Just and Idea though, I would like it though

[SmartyPants]

Speaking of Bugs, I went and greated my own bug: The Glare (seen in the new enemy ideas) and after this I thought, hey if their are 3 queens (at least to Im2smart4u) shouldn't we design more bug queens and bus to go with this............

I am not changing my theory until new bugs are in-game. That means no Void Bug and no Glare.

[Zackirus]

Speaking of Bugs, I went and greated my own bug: The Glare (seen in the new enemy ideas) and after this I thought, hey if their are 3 queens (at least to Im2smart4u) shouldn't we design more bug queens and bus to go with this............

I am not changing my theory until new bugs are in-game. That means no Void Bug and no Glare.

The Void Bug changes your theory by adding  bug that protects the queen. My Glare is a simple bug that lives in the desert around Rubat (it doesn't conflict with your theory at all)

[Presentiment]

I hope everyone realizes this whole 'theory' is just a summary of bees' hives.

[KZ]

I hope everyone realizes this whole 'theory' is just a summary of bees' hives.

If you look at how im2smart4u's post begins, anyone reading it thoroughly, even if they were not aware of how bee hives function, would realize that this is what he's talking about.

The Void Bug doesn't contradict the theory, Zackirus,  since the Shadow Bug stage comes after the Nymph stage. All it simply does is form an "elite" Shadow Bug class, (e.g. like Ravinale Elite) which is called upon to solve problems which don't crop up daily and which the Shadow Bugs ahve more trouble dealing with. Protecting the Queen can be just one of many uses for them.

[Presentiment]

I hope everyone realizes this whole 'theory' is just a summary of bees' hives.

If you look at how im2smart4u's post begins, anyone reading it thoroughly, even if they were not aware of how bee hives function, would realize that this is what he's talking about.

And he only says it is similar, while it is merely a 'fill in the blanks'.

Thus rendering the bottom of the post meaningless and the beginning offering no insight.

[KZ]

I have faith in folks who visit the forums to have intelligence enough to relaise it, without the need for someone to state the obvious, whilst not offering anything new, or even ageeing with discussion at hand.

Back on topic: im2msart4u, do you find that the Void Bug, or the Glare, or both, contradict the bug theory in some fundamental way? Will it really be required to change to a great degree?

[SmartyPants]

I hope everyone realizes this whole 'theory' is just a summary of bees' hives.

I don't think you understand how bee hives works, so don't misinform people.  My bug theory says that different stages of the bugs have different roles, while real bee hives have different bugs born for different purposes.  

Back on topic: im2smart4u, do you find that the Void Bug, or the Glare, or both, contradict the bug theory in some fundamental way? Will it really be required to change to a great degree?

The Void Bug could be a stage after the Shadow Bug or something like that.  From my understanding from Zackirus description of the Glare, I think the Glare, like the Desert Scorpion, is separate from the bug colony.

[Presentiment]

I hope everyone realizes this whole 'theory' is just a summary of bees' hives.

I don't think you understand how bee hives works, so don't misinform people.  My bug theory says that different stages of the bugs have different roles, while real bee hives have different bugs born for different purposes.  

It can be explained either way, there is no real difference. For example, the Shadow Bugs' dark coloring could simply be because they were born to be soldiers/harvesters, and Nymphs could have white shells as a result of having a carapace formed from dried minerals.

A colony in which roles changes with age would be less evolutionarily viable than how the bees do it, as it requires a very specific mortality rate to keep the ratio between Shadow Bugs/Nymphs efficient.

[SmartyPants]

Here is another part of the bug theory, so tell me what you think.
When the larva hatchs from the eggs, the first brain wave that contacts them is recognized as their Queen and master.  If the master dies, the next creature to contact the bugs will become the new master.  If a Bug Queen's eggs are stolen and the eggs hatch outside the presence of the Bug Queen, a human or wood-folk could contact the newly born larva to make the bug its servant.  If a larva changes into a Bug Queen, then it will become an independent thinker and will be a servant to no one. This theory would explain why bugs fight alongside all the races in the Coliseum.  This would also explain how the wood-folk make the bugs their pets.

[WeBing]

I like the concept, but what mechanism would the bugs have to receiving others' 'brain waves'? What would prevent something from Contacting the bug before the Queen does? Does it mean all bugs are psys?

Or perhaps we could explain it this way: Shadow Bugs are the females and Nymphs are the males [irony cough cough but it is better explained this way]. The bugs form no lasting bonds, and Nymphs can mate with multiple Shadow Bugs (but it is still a colony). They change genders depending on how many offspring they can produce (if there are too many Shadow Bugs some Shadow Bugs will turn into Nymphs to take advantage of it), which explains the abundance of Shadow Bugs versus Nymphs.

[Zhampir]

sounds like toads, or is it sea-horses? or both? ah well. Either way, I think the way the bugs work should be similar to how they work in real life, not as amphibians or mammals or fish or birds, but insects.