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Cloudkeeper Krugg (Pterigiocimex Aeolus)
Ancestor: Bristlekrugg
Creator: HethrJarrod
Habitat: Atmosphere (Troposphere)
Size: 10 mm wide (excluding bristles)
Support: Exoskeleton (Chitin)
Diet: Detrivore
Respiration: Passive Diffusion (Bristles)
Thermoregulation: Ectotherm
Reproduction: Sexual (Hemaphrodite, Snail-Like Eggs)

The Cloudkeeper Krugg took to the skies when a colony of Bristlekrugg stumbled onto a low floating Nimbus Cloud that had become entangled with some trees. A stiff wind freed the Nimbus Cloud and it rose into the sky along with the Bristlekrugg inside.

Relationship with the Nimbus

The cloudkeeper krugg has formed a symbiotic relationship with nimbuses of nimbus clouds. The nimbus’s long feathery fronds catch pollen and other tiny particles which interfere with their photosynthesis. The cloudkeeper krugg carefully clean these particles off of the nimbus and eat them.

A cloudkeeper krugg does not weigh much more than an individual nimbus. When a cloudkeeper dies, its body will be used to expand the size of the nimbus cloud. Both nimbuses and a dead cloudkeeper krugg have minute hooks at the ends of their fronds allowing them to attach to each other. Cloudkeepers constantly keep the bristles clean by grooming each other.

Cloudkeeper Krugg Society

Cloudkeeper kruggs live in groups called marches, led by a Cloudkeeper marchess, a female matriarch. On earth a march was the term used to describe a border territory or frontier. The person that ruled over a march was called a marquis, or if female, a marchessa. A nimbus cloud usually has between 2-3 marches residing within it. Each cloudkeeper march contains roughly 100-200 members. The marchess is the colony’s primary breeder, similar to a terran ant queen. When a cloudkeeper dies, its body will be used to expand the nimbus cloud in which the cloudkeeper march resides.

The cloudkeeper marchess is most recognized by its enlarged posterior segment, used to store the nutrients required for reproduction. She is practically sewn into the nimbus cloud by the hooks on her fronds. The other cloudkeeper kruggs bring her food. Once an egg is produced, a Cloudkeeper attendant will carry the egg until it hatches in a few hours. Because the numbers of cloudkeepers are low, in order to keep weight low, cloudkeepers don’t form caste groups, but can be divided into different tasks they might be performing at the moment.

Attendant cloudkeepers carry around eggs in their fronds until a few hours later they hatch. Cleaner cloudkeepers crawl along the fronds of the nimbuses that make up the nimbus cloud, bringing the food and water back to the marchess. Other cleaner cloudkeepers clean off debris from fellow cloudkeepers and do the same. They share food with each other if the marchess is fed.

==Starting a Colony==
Marches keep close track of their population, if it gets over 200 members, the marchessa will give birth to a new marchessa to prepare. The colony will even divide in two and form a new march. If it grows even more, it start to form a new seed cloud by carefully unhooking the nimbus of a part of the nimbus cloud. This new section will drift away from the old cloud along with at least 5-10 Cloudkeepers.
If the number of cloudkeepers are low, they share genetic material with the Marchessa, exchanging it via their mouths.
In the event of a marchessa’s sudden death, the most recently hatched egg becomes the new marchessa. This is in part due to the chemical influence of the Marchessa preventing the workers from becoming a marchessa.




This post has been edited by HethrJarrod: May 26 2023, 12:15 PM

How do they disperse? What happens if a nimbus colony dies?

These don't look like they'd be similar in weight to a nimbus cell. Nimbus cells are very tiny things in proportion to the frond. Much smaller than this.

QUOTE (Disgustedorite @ Apr 4 2023, 06:29 PM)

How do they disperse? What happens if a nimbus colony dies? These don't look like they'd be similar in weight to a nimbus cell. Nimbus cells are very tiny things in proportion to the frond. Much smaller than this.

pictured is the Marchessa
the others still resemble Bristlekrugg

If the nimbus colony dies, the cloudkeeper krugg colony also dies.

Disperse? You mean if the colony gets too many members?
In that case, members can be forced to leave... or the nimbus cloud split into smaller sections

And how do members that are forced to leave survive, exactly?

Also, how do they gather food when interlinked with the nimbus?

QUOTE (Disgustedorite @ Apr 29 2023, 05:26 PM)

And how do members that are forced to leave survive, exactly? Also, how do they gather food when interlinked with the nimbus?

The ones forced to leave…
Well if one falls off, their chances of survival aren’t zero if they’re lucky.
Otherwise a part of the nimbus cloud is physically separated.

Only the Marchessa is interlocked with the nimbus. The others clean the nimbus stalks of detritus, pollen, etc. they bring them to her to eat.

It sounds like there is a caste system involving reproductive members and nonreproductive members, can you elaborate on their lifecycles?

It sounds like the colonies multiply similarly to honeybees, by dividing their colony worker populations. Because there are multiple Marches within a nimbus cloud you likely avoid the issue if a colony needing to create a new reproductive caste member without the existence of a current one as honeybees do, but the formation of a new March within a nimbus cloud could be an inportant piece of information and how or why a March may decide to break apart the nimbus cloud and drift away.

The size in the template needs a reference dimension, tall, wide, long etc. I would also add (including/excluding bristles) depending on how you've decided to measure them.

"When a Cloudkeeper Krugg dies, its body will be used to expand the size of the Nimbus. "

may want to say nimbus cloud, right? Unless I'm misunderstanding here.


Given they need to be very lightweight I suspect the marchess would need to produce an egg only occasionally. Otherwise having multiple eggs and enlarged ovaries would put a notable dense spot in the nimbus cloud.

Having the egg hatch quickly is good, no need to figure out what to do with it beforehand.

I'm curious if the caste system here is age based, or selected at birth.

Honeybees are age based, ants are "selected at birth". Or rather, does an individual change caste over time, or does it get stuck with one job its whole life.




How are new marchesses made?

" They constantly keep the bristles clean by grooming each other."

rather than "they" I suggest putting the name of your species, otherwise based off the previous sentence it sounds like the dead krugg and the nimbus clean each other.


"...Terran Ant Queen. When a Cloudkeeper dies, its body will be used to expand the Nimbus Cloud in which the Cloudkeeper March resides."

I'm not sure if this sentence is needed since it was already stated before, though if there was more information to add to the concept it could work as a restatement.

QUOTE (colddigger @ May 5 2023, 12:33 AM)

The size in the template needs a reference dimension, tall, wide, long etc. I would also add (including/excluding bristles) depending on how you've decided to measure them. "When a Cloudkeeper Krugg dies, its body will be used to expand the size of the Nimbus. " may want to say nimbus cloud, right? Unless I'm misunderstanding here. Given they need to be very lightweight I suspect the marchess would need to produce an egg only occasionally. Otherwise having multiple eggs and enlarged ovaries would put a notable dense spot in the nimbus cloud. Having the egg hatch quickly is good, no need to figure out what to do with it beforehand. I'm curious if the caste system here is age based, or selected at birth. Honeybees are age based, ants are "selected at birth". Or rather, does an individual change caste over time, or does it get stuck with one job its whole life. How are new marchesses made? " They constantly keep the bristles clean by grooming each other." rather than "they" I suggest putting the name of your species, otherwise based off the previous sentence it sounds like the dead krugg and the nimbus clean each other. "...Terran Ant Queen. When a Cloudkeeper dies, its body will be used to expand the Nimbus Cloud in which the Cloudkeeper March resides." I'm not sure if this sentence is needed since it was already stated before, though if there was more information to add to the concept it could work as a restatement.

Because of their few numbers, it’s not really a caste-thing. More of a task-at-hand thing.

But the Marchess is a born caste isn't it?

How are they made?

Or is it an individual dominance over the colony, not specifically due to bein born into the role but rather by taking it?

This post has been edited by colddigger: May 9 2023, 09:47 PM

QUOTE (colddigger @ May 10 2023, 12:47 AM)

But the Marchess is a born caste isn't it? How are they made? Or is it an individual dominance over the colony, not specifically due to bein born into the role but rather by taking it?

It’s a numbers thing. Since weight, etc. is so important, they know exactly how many are on a cloud. But still…. Added detail about what happens when a Marchessa dies unexpectedly.

This post has been edited by HethrJarrod: May 10 2023, 02:01 AM

It sounds like there is a chemical influence by the marchess that forces unhatched into being workers, so the default are
E queens.

are workers both male and female?
How are reproductive males made and/possibly destroyed?

QUOTE (colddigger @ May 21 2023, 10:16 PM)

are workers both male and female? How are reproductive males made and/possibly destroyed?

They are hemaphrodites.

Seeing how the all feed the “queen”, it probably is through the food.
They share food with queen, she adds chemical and gives part of it back.

That’s the theory at least.

Huh interesting, so am I interpreting you that all workers are providing sperm to the marchess?

That would have potential for secondary reproductive dominance among them is only allowed to reproduce as males.

This also now makes me more curious about obtaining colony members other than through the marchess directly.

The social and territory structure between these seems interesting.

I'm curious about worker exchange between marchess territories within a nimbus cloud. Would raiding occur if nimbus clouds merge? If not for food resources then just for sperm resources before immediately killing them for their bodies as building material.

Though marches themselves, not marchesses, reproduce via nimbus cloud division I now wonder about genetic dispersal via dominated individuals getting tossed out on their own rafts to be assimilated into other colonies in order to spread their marchess' genes to new colonies more quickly.

QUOTE (colddigger @ May 23 2023, 03:57 AM)

Huh interesting, so am I interpreting you that all workers are providing sperm to the marchess? That would have potential for secondary reproductive dominance among them is only allowed to reproduce as males. This also now makes me more curious about obtaining colony members other than through the marchess directly. The social and territory structure between these seems interesting. I'm curious about worker exchange between marchess territories within a nimbus cloud. Would raiding occur if nimbus clouds merge? If not for food resources then just for sperm resources before immediately killing them for their bodies as building material. Though marches themselves, not marchesses, reproduce via nimbus cloud division I now wonder about genetic dispersal via dominated individuals getting tossed out on their own rafts to be assimilated into other colonies in order to spread their marchess' genes to new colonies more quickly.

Sounds about right.