Springskimmer

Springskimmers are one of the native Yuriban insect species, as opposed to the various species introduced by immigrants to the island. A highly adaptive scavenger, it has survived the various changes to Yuriba's climate and fauna with little difficulty.

Physiology and behaviour

In general, bugs are not particularly cautious creatures. In other parts of the world, you find them splatted on windshields, or in the goggles of particularly carefree pilots. In Yuriba, you generally find them boiled to a fine consistency on the surface of hot springs. From this somewhat suicidal behaviour evolved a scavenger to take advantage of it.

The springskimmer appears somewhat of a mix between a dragonfly and a daddy longlegs. Its primary behaviour is to flitter from nearby flora, where it finds cover, to the surface of the hot springs. Its feet are protected by a special mucus it produces, allowing it to skim across the surface. It has a small proboscis, which it uses to, similar to a housefly, first liquify the --likely already mostly liquid-floating insect carrion, and then suck them up.

In harsher times, it can survive on certain flower pollen-- for instance, angstflowers, but in general, its usual food supply is abundant.

With the advent of the Expansion Era, it adapted its diet to the influx of human visitors. Already used to a protein-rich diet, in addition to dead insects, it also feeds on fallen skin cells and other protein-high detritus that natives and immigrants alike leave in the hot springs.