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Icks are rat-sized eusocial creatures who are widespread with many variations across the planet of Searia.
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Worker Icks:
Worker Icks are female and most of them stay in the ant nest and complete tasks like tending to the young. The workers go out on expeditions to gather food, usually five to six of them group up along with 2 soldiers.Certain species of Icks have the ability to explode in defense of the colony, using a burst of gas and a chemical reaction inside their body that ruptures their internal and external body, shooting off sharp fragments of their shell to damage those around them in defense of the colony and at the cost of their own life.
They have retractable mandibles inside of their mouths, used to scoop up food and carry large items back to the colony.
They can stick to most surfaces using the tiny hairs on their feet that help maximize contact with surfaces, allowing van der Waals forces to go to work (this is seen in the soldiers too).
Their bright yellow coloring on their shells is a instance of Aposematism (the advertising by an animal to potential predators that it is not worth attacking or eating).
The red colors of their eyes is caused by the lack of pigmentation in their pupils, the red you see is due to the light reflecting off the blood vessels in their eyes.
In the past, Icks were used as a “natural grenade” by early civilizations on the planet. The Icks would be sedated, captured, tied with a rope around their neck, and thrown as a grenade when needed. However, this practice has been largely discontinued due to the potential harm it causes to Ick populations.
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Ick Soldiers:
Soldier Icks are larger and stronger than the worker Icks, with more powerful mandibles that work like pincers to defend the colony against predators. They also accompany worker Icks on expeditions to protect them.The production of soldier Icks is regulated by the colony itself, with a rudimentary organ appearing only briefly during the final stages of larval development in some of the Icks. This organ determines whether the Ick will become a soldier or a worker, and helps maintain a balance between the two.
Some variations of Icks have soldiers with a flat, hammer-like head that is used to block the entrance to the colony’s nest.
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Expeditions:
Expeditions are searches for food for the colony often done by 6 workers to scavenge and 2 soldiers to protect them.They walk in a specific formation to appear as a larger, unappetizing creature to disinterest sky predators.
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Images: old and kind of bad art of a Ick worker (small one) a Ick soldier (large one next to small one) and the formation during a expedition (the shapes)










Silly critters
Until they blow up in your hand
Even sillier
The silliest
icks are milky’s silliest experiment

Whimsical explosions
Truly
yo idk what you be saying thats some clean concept art looking art
Shut with your positive words
damn
you’re talented with this whole designing thing
looks like my mom
fedora is an insect confirmed