Digmite

These versatile aardmites are adapted for life in the warmer regions of Glicker. Their competition for resources and the threat of their predators has led them to be very territorial; they often kill or injure anything their size. Their two massive antennae serve as excavators, able to rapidly carve out deep, winding burrows in the soft soil and sands of their habitat. To aid in digging, they have become much smoother than their ancestors. They use their digging ability to their advantage in situations where they cannot defend themselves. Similarly to the jumpmite, they lay eggs in the ground near carcasses, but don’t actually lay the eggs in the carcass. Digmites are voracious, eating as much as they can in order to lay healthy eggs. While the offspring are not very large, only starting out at about 1.5 cm long, as many as 25 eggs can be laid at a time. They only usually mate once in their lives, and after mating the female will kill and eat the male, similarly to some terran spiders. This provides the female with extra nutrients needed for her future offspring. While digmites keep their endoskeletons mostly intact, the ribs are quite a bit shorter. Their exoskeleton has also thickened slightly, especially in the antennae which they use for digging.