Stingwing Swarm

Stingwings are, as the name implies, small biting and stinging insects which fly in swarms of several hundred to several thousand individuals, each no larger than a claw. Although they operate as swarms, they are prone to being scattered even by conventional attacks due to their generally low bravery: although swinging a sword or axe or firing a gun through a cloud of stingwings will not realistically kill all that many of the swarm, they will rapidly dissipate if a would-be victim shows a strong resistance to their swarming. On occasion, the passage of a bullet or attack will daze or stun an intact Stingwing Queen, which will fall to the ground: this is, of course, far more likely if proper hunting techniques are used. It may then be captured and preserved as a trophy to be exchanged for Tokens of Merit.

Although extremely dangerous if they manage to come close, they are easily dispatched long before that happens by using flame weaponry or even conventional ranged weapons. Most typically, they are a nuisance, but cases of death -- although rare -- are not entirely unheard of, especially if an unsuspecting avikan stumbles into a swarm in the darkness.

Stingwing swarms are almost always found in pits within the desert wetlands, where up to three independent swarms will spawn. However, individual or small groups of swarms may also appear anywhere in some desert locations.