Defenceast

Defenceast are Natura Mutibugs Direcants that live on the border between Polsize and Resize. They are part of the Fourdirectionals, along with Snowest, Grassouth, and Ironorth.

They are small, grayish-yellow creatures with slight fur. They have four legs with little white claws at the tips. Their heads feature a large white jaw and, most prominently, a yellow shield-like structure on their foreheads.

The Queen Defenceast (right in the picture) digs wide caves underground or inside rocks. These caves resemble large dance halls rather than the typical tunnels other creatures make. Once the cave is complete, the Queen hides in the deepest part and begins laying eggs.

Defenceasts can reproduce both sexually and asexually. Eggs laid asexually will always hatch into non-queen Defenceasts (left in the picture), while sexually laid eggs have a 50% chance of becoming Queen Defenceasts.

Non-queen Defenceasts have a large shield-like structure on their foreheads and strong jaws. They protect the cave and collect food for the colony. When the cave population reaches around 500 adults, they 'explode' from the cave en masse to collect all the vegetation in the surrounding area and bring it back as food.

When not collecting food, some Defenceasts use their 'shields' to block all entrances to the cave while the rest eat safely inside. Each hour, the Defenceasts guarding the entrance rotate, allowing them to eat and rest while others take their place.

The shield is the strongest part of their body and regenerates quickly if scratched. It's also very nutritious, making Defenceasts a desirable prey for many creatures.

The Queen eats the most in the colony, using the energy to reproduce sexually and lay a special generation of eggs that will hatch into new Queen Defenceasts. These new queens consume large amounts of food to gain the energy needed to leave the cave and establish their own colonies, continuing the cycle.

The Queen only produces the special generation once. If no queens hatch, that branch of Defenceasts is doomed, though this is rare.

A Defenceast colony remains active as long as the Queen lives. When she dies, the other Defenceasts stop collecting food, and once their supplies run out, they all die.

This finite colony lifespan allows the environment around the cave to recover, benefiting future generations that may establish a cave nearby.

It’s rare for two colonies to be founded close to each other. If this happens, the colonies will fight for resources, with Defenceasts using their jaws to strike their rivals' necks or their shields to block attacks.