General
Along with sunny days and warm weather, summer brings iridescent horseflies. They are small, active creatures with reflective, metallic bodies that live in organized groups of about twenty individuals. They feed on the sweetest of fruits and are a common sight in apple or pear orchards as well as in large pantries that store berries. Not as harmful as the ordinary flies, as they do not carry diseases, the iridescent horseflies are still considered a pest and treated as such. Oftentimes rotting fruits are left outside in hopes of preventing them from entering pantries but it does not stop them from visiting households. Although they do not consume fruit in large quantities, the horseflies can lead to severe food shortages in a matter of days as the oily substance that is left on everything they touch leads to decay. Keeping them under control is a hard task. Even if not possessing any useful magical abilities, the members of an iridescent horsefly group are mentally linked. The hivemind ability is so strong that it allows them to move as a single being, often swarming those who wish them harm before escaping in an oily rush.
Egg
The shell of this egg is oily.
Hatchling
Iridescent horsefly eggs are laid deep inside sweet fruits. They hatch when fruits ripe and the larvae will spend their entire time eating the fruits from inside out. Most of the time there are no more than two horsefly larvae inside a single fruit and they eat in tandem, slowly forming the mental links that will soon make them part of a hivemind. They connect to other horsefly larvae found in the nearby fruits and eat in such a way so they could all emerge at once. As the oily substance that covers their bodies is not yet harmful, the horsefly larvae do not risk having the fruit rot before they manage to eat it entirely.
Adult
An iridescent horsefly can be considered an adult by the time it has finished eating the fruit into which its egg has been laid. It takes a few tries to master flying but the mental link that ties the group is so strong that they support each other as soon as they emerge from the fruit. They often bump into fruits and leaves causing them to decay before they manage to coordinate themselves as an entity. Although of simple thinking and desires, the iridescent horseflies that form a group share the same thoughts and needs and therefore eat, sleep and do other activities at the same time. They have no ill intent and eat only as much as they need; resting on other food and causing it to decay is a simple accident.
Notes
Obtained from: Stream (common)
Breeding: No
Renaming cost: 200 gold
Release date: March 13th 2024
Element: Neutral 
Sprite art: DarrkestDrow | Description: Real