From EncyclopAtys
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“Context
Fragment found in the Almati Wood Kitin's Lair, next to the lifeless body of Orphie Dradius.Analysis
A trained eye will quickly recognize in this fragment a tapered section of the abdomen of a kirosta, characterized by a bifid ending composed of a cornicle and a stinger.
The abdomen of a kirosta consists of four segments:
- first segment, connected to the thorax, ascending ;
- second segment, vertically positioned, descending and very constricted at its junction with the third ;
- third and fourth segment, horizontal, darted between its long legs by the insect.
The fragment contains segments 2 to 4, as well as the complete appendages. It is thus an abdomen that has been sliced up between the first two segments. The size of the abdomen is relatively modest for a kirosta, between those of the abdomens of "nettled" and "incensed" kirostas.
The color of the specimen is totally singular and fascinating, of a black that does not reflect any light, emitting only here and there vermilion gleams forming spots or lines, depending on the angle of observation. This color has never been observed before, except perhaps in the native varinxes of the Prime Roots or the gibbaïs.
First hypothesis: this kirosta would be a mutant specimen, selected by its hive for its color supporting the camouflage in the dark places.Accelerated decay
Three days after being brought back to the Academy, the fragment began to give off a very stench odor and black mold formed on the surface of the chitin. After five days its condition had deteriorated further: the chitin was now soft. So I ordered the sample to be cut into three parts (the three segments) and each one to be stabilized in its original state in a Daïsha stanza [1].I also took some mold samples for further analysis.
Second hypothesis: this kirosta would be a sick specimen, affected by a powerful pathogen causing a severe necrosis.Conclusion
This last hypothesis seemed to me, given the rapidity of the degradation, the most plausible. But it is also the most promising: the identification of the pathogen in question could indeed prove decisive in the fight of the Homins against the kitin populations. This is why a new study has already been launched to find the pathogen in the wild with the help of samples taken.
Daeronn Cegrips,
Master of the Chair of Knowledge
Entomologist
- ↑ An amber cube.
