Sting Tails

Appearance: The Sting Tail has four pair of eyes, but cannot see well. Their jointed jaw tears up food into small pieces. They have a flat narrow body, two pincers, eight legs, and a segmented abdominal tail. Their tail curls over their body and the tip bears a bulb-shaped structure containing the venom glands and a sharp curved point to deliver the venom. Their entire body is covered with fine hairs. They grow to about three inches in length. Their color varies; they have the ability to camouflage themselves into their environment

Behavior: Sting Tails are nocturnal, predatory animals that feed on a variety of insects, spiders, centipedes, and other Sting Tails. Prey is located primarily by sensing vibrations. They have an array of fine sensory hairs that sense air-borne vibrations; the tips of the legs detect vibrations in the ground. Although they are equipped with venom to defend themselves, Sting Tails fall prey to many types of creatures, such as eight-legs, lizards, birds, Cliff Climbers, and Snakekillers.

Life-Cycle: Sting Tails have a complex mating ritual in which the male uses his pinchers to grasp the female’s pinchers in order to lead her on a "courtship dance".

Sting Tails have a long gestation period of a year and a half. The young are born live and ascend their mother's back. She assists them by making a "birth basket" with her folded legs to catch them as they are born and to provide them with a means to climb to her back. On the average, a female gives birth to about 25-35 young. They remain on her back until they molt for the first time, usually within a week or two after birth. Once they climb down, they assume an independent existence, and periodically molt to reach adulthood. Typically five or six molts over two to six years are required for the Sting Tail to reach maturity.

The average Sting Tail probably lives three to five years.

Habitat: The Sting Tail can go without water for several months. It can also survive a year without any food. During the day Sting Tails hide away in burrows or under stones where it is cool and damp. Sting Tails exhibit social behaviors beyond the mother-young association, such as colonial burrowing, and living in extended family groups that share burrows and food.

Venom: The venom of Sting Tails is used for both prey capture and defense. Sting Tails venoms affect the victim’s nervous systems. The venom produces severe pain and swelling at the site of the sting. It can also cause numbness, frothing at the mouth, difficulties in breathing, muscle twitching and convulsions. Death is rare to a full-grown elf or human but the venom can kill a child or small animal. There are antivenins available for severe cases.