Board Thread:Fan-made Monsters/@comment-38464016-20200121113317

Tarantula Hawk

Family: Bee

Type: Bug

Habitat: Deserts, Arid grasslands

Disposition: Aloof, Relaxed, Rarely Aggressive

Diet: Omnivore, but prefers nectar and spirit energy

Biology:

A larger cousin to the Hornet, Tarantula Hawks are solitary members of the Bee family. Their insectoid parts are iridescent blue, with bright orange wings and a massive stinger. Unlike their close cousin the Hornet, these girls are very docile and unaggressive, preferring to avoid human contact instead of charging in and stinging.

Their venom has three possible effects. If a woman is stung, she will be reborn as either an Arachne or as a new Tarantula Hawk. Men who have been stung liken it to receiving the stings of 30 hornets at once.

Where things get interesting is when they sting members of the Arachne family. When stung, an Arachne will take on a personality akin to a mix between a Kikimora and a Holstaur, with strong submission and docility towards the Tarantula Hawk. The Tarantula Hawk then uses the Arachne to act as a nanny for the Hawk's offspring.

This can result in three options for Tarantula Hawk courtship. Either they seek out a man already married to an Arachne, getting both a husband and a "nanny" in one go, or they will sting an Arachne in advance before seeking out a husband, having her tend the house while they're gone. In one case, the Hawk in question stung an entire group of Arachne and took home the one that pleased her the most.

The final option is that the Tarantula Hawk finds a husband first. In which case she will passively exist in the man's presence, requiring that the man is in excellent physical health. After several days or weeks, she will let the man approach and make his proposition. She will show that she accepts by stinging him, after which they will couple until the Hawk is pregnant.

Whether a Tarantula Hawk can be converted by Honeybees like regular Hornets has never been confirmed. 