Chameleon Silkwing Moth

Cryptologic Name: Ostentinea s.
Planar Origin: Materia
Habitat: Temperate and sub-tropical regions
Diet: Herbivorous

Appearance & Morphology
Chameleon silkwing moths are a genus of magical insects that fairly closely resemble their nonmagical counterparts in morphology and lifecycle. Individual species vary in size and wing shape, but all species possess the same set of magical abilities.

Magical Abilities and Behavior
The most notable magical trait of the adult chameleon silkwing, and indeed where this creature gets its name, is its ability to alter its coloration and patterning at will. This change can be done very quickly, with colors and patterns shifting in mere seconds. The purpose of this ability appears to be twofold; first they will use bright patterns and colors to attract mates, as we often see in the animal world, with males using bright displays to catch the attention of females. The second purpose is predator deterrence; these moths will often settle on drab coloring to match their surroundings as effective camouflage against predators, but when they become aware of a predator’s interest they will flash bright displays in an attempt to confuse them, or as a form of Batesian mimicry (when a harmless species imitates the warning signals of a harmful species directed at a predator of them both).

In addition to this remarkable ability these creatures have as adults, their larval/pupal stage also has unique magical properties. The silk threads the chameleon silkwing caterpillar produces will react to ambient mana flow and will change color in response. This “chameleon silk” is a highly sought-after material which is used by mages in a variety of ways. Much like nonmagical silk, it is most often spun into thread and woven into fabric rather than used raw. The resulting textile is often used to embellish haute couture outfits in the upper echelons of mage society. It can also be used in tools meant to detect ambient mana or locate magical leylines.

Field Notes

• Harvesting and spinning chameleon silk is an elaborate and painstaking process and as such the material is prohibitively expensive for most mages. An ancient mage-king was said to have had an elaborate robe made entirely from the material, and he would wear it any time he cast spells so that his clothing would dance with color as he channeled mana into his works.

• Chameleon silk threads change color consistently in the presence of different wavelengths of mana, and as such can be used to identify specific types of mana in an area. Nervalia Ensantos is noted as the first mage to have experimented with chameleon silk and catalogued the different hues the material adopts when exposed to specific mana. Her initial index has been expanded since her time but the base work she did is still in use by modern mages.

• In my own menagerie of magical creatures individuals of three species represented.

  • O. hyalophora, the largest of the chameleon silkmoth species, whose wing shape resembles that of the cecropia moth.

  • O. actias, easily distinguishable with its longitailed wings.

  • O. automeris, a mid-sized species which often displays different colors on its hindwings than its forewings (sadly as I was photographing mine, it showed no interest in demonstrating this tendency)

O. hylaphora

O. actias

O. automeris

Augurey

Cryptologic Name: Kairouli liveros
Planar Origin: Veneficus
Habitat: Temperate marshlands
Diet: Carnivorous, feeding primarily on insects and faeries

Appearance & Morphology
The augurey, sometimes referred to as the “Irish phoenix,” is a moderately large bird resembling a vulture. Its long neck and head are mostly bare save for a ruff of plumage around the base of the skull and a bright crest stemming from the same area atop its head. Mostly grey-brown in color, these birds have shocks of bright green feathers in their crest, tail, and wings.

Behavior & Magical Abilities
Augureys are known to sing a melancholic song, and for a long period of time many believed this call to be prophetic of one’s death. In the mid 1700’s Rumors spread of people suffering heart attacks walking the marshlands in which these birds can be found, and these deaths became attributed to the birds’ dreary ballads. It wasn’t until many decades later, when cryptozoology became more widely studied in the magical community, that we discovered the true nature of these birds’ magical abilities. It is true that they have minor prophetic powers, however they do not predict death, but rather the coming onset of precipitation. As such, these birds became wildly popular among mage families as weather predictors, however during the rainier months their unpleasant dirges can be rather taxing to hear with such frequency.

These birds are rather reclusive, building teardrop-shaped nests out of thorns and bramble and remaining hidden within them for the bulk of the day, only emerging in the twilight hours to hunt for meals.

Aside from their predictive abilities, they also have another unusual property in their plumage. Augurey feathers contain a chemical compound that resists ink, and thus are useless as writing quills.

Field Notes

• It’s nickname, “Irish phoenix,” is not particularly meaningful from a cryptozoological standpoint. These creatures are not native to Ireland (like most magical creatures, they are extraplanar beings, though to be fair there is a sizable population there) and primarily are associated with Ireland because of their green coloration. Similarly, they are not closely related to phoenixes, but are simply magical birds of a comparable size. Informal names are often thus, much as how “jellyfish” are not actually fish. This is probably unimportant to most of you but I’m a scientist and this is my field guide so you signed up to hear my inane complaints about mage society’s unscientific way of talking about things.

• Uric the Oddball [a wildly eccentric collector of magical species] is known to have slept in a room containing no fewer than fifty pet augureys. During one particularly wet winter, Uric became convinced by the moaning of his augureys that he had died and was now a ghost. His subsequent attempts to walk through the walls of his house resulted in what his biographer Radolphus Pittiman describes as a “concussion of ten days’ duration.’
  (Scamander, Newton. Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them. Obscurus Books, 1927.)

Vigorwasp

Cryptologic Name: R. renovespa
Planar Origin: Repens
Habitat: Jungle
Diet: Herbivorous

Appearance & Morphology
The vigorwasp is a large, fuzzy wasp species with bright gold and black coloring on its legs and abdomen. Like other hymenopterid species, there are morphological differences between wasps with different roles within their hive, which are divided into three categories, known as castes. The queen is the only egg-laying individual of the hive, and is significantly larger than the rest, sporting a long abdomen with several openings out of which her eggs are laid. Worker drones are much smaller and are the only individuals which possess stingers for protecting the hive. Lastly, the nurses are larger in size than the drones and can often be seen carrying a large sac of bright green liquid.

Behavior & Magical Abilities
Of the three categories, the vigorwasp nurses are the most sought-after and arguably most important individuals in their social structure, as they provide food for the entire hive. They produce a bright green liquid commonly referred to as “vitality nectar,” which is secreted into a bubble on the underside of the wasp. Aside from being the sole food source for the rest of the hive (the maids feed primarily on nectar and tree sap for their own nourishment), this liquid has potent healing properties. On its own it can be applied to wounds to heal damaged muscle and skin, or brewed into more potent healing potions and salves with a variety of effects.

Field Notes

• Vigorwasps are the only species known to have three distinct casts, all other eusocial species of bees and wasps only have two: queens and drones. The “nurse” caste specific to this species was named thus because of the healing properties of their vitality nectar.

• Because of the importance of the vitality nectar in sustaining the hive, it can only be gathered in small amounts without risking the health of the hive. This is not dissimilar from beekeepers leaving a portion of the honey for their bees’ consumption.

Devil's Eye Moth

Cryptologic Name: Capuridae Diaboculus
Planar Origin: Materia
Habitat: Forested mountainsides
Diet: Herbivore; primary diet is tree sap

Appearance & Morphology
The devil’s eye moth is a large species of magical moth which is primarily brown in coloration. Both its fore and hindwings have bands of blue-violet color across the width of the wing and golden yellow along the outer margins. Their most recognizable trait is the presence of large, red eye spots in the center of their hindwings, for which they earned their name.

Magical Abilities & Behavior
This moth’s active magical abilities center around these large red eye spots on their wings, which glow ominously when revealed and will cause a temporary state of stasis in any living creature which sees them. This stasis essentially renders the creature frozen in place for approximately 4-5 minutes before regaining faculty. This is often compared to the eyes of petrifying species such as the gorgon, basilisk, or cockatrice in that it requires the creature to see the source of the magical power (the eye spots of this moth or the actual eyes of the other species mentioned). As such appropriate countermeasures can be used when dealing with these creatures such as enchanted ocular devices and the like.

Like many of their nonmagical counterparts, these moths rest with their wings folded back, obscuring the red eye spots and making them fairly well-camouflaged on the trunks of the large trees they will land on to drink the sap and making their eye spots inactive on any random forest creatures that happen to be passing by. Being moths, however, they are rather tasty prey for many creatures and will generally use their power as a defense mechanism against such predators, allowing them to escape. Unfortunately this is not a particularly effective strategy against one of their primary predators, bats, as they generally use echolocation rather than vision to locate their prey.

Field Notes

• While discussing the magical state of stasis the devil’s eye moth produces in creatures who see its glowing red eye spots, I noted that it is often compared to the petrifying gaze of several other species. There are a few key differences, however, in how this power works which should be noted. First and foremost, gorgon and basilisk eyes retain their magical qualities even if the creature is no longer alive, while cockatrice eyes and the spots on the devil’s eye moth require mana to actively be supplied in order to achieve the effect, which means that if the creature is no longer alive, the power ceases to work. As such you cannot as easily petrify/stun creatures in the same manner as Perseus, by simply lopping the relevant part off and waving it at your enemies. It is possible to channel mana through the wings to recreate the moth’s power, but it takes a great deal of research and practice to be able to manipulate the mana in a specific and subtle enough way to successfully achieve this.

• I should also note, though if you’ve made it this far you’ve probably figured it out already, but the moth’s power also doesn’t function through photographs, so you don’t need to worry about becoming frozen by seeing pictures of these creatures, even if they are displaying their eye spots.