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Blood-wings

Blood-wings are a species in the collective known as the corruption. They, like the other species, seem to be very closely related to the rest of the corruption's species. 

They are similar to earth's arthropods, having a hard chitinous exoskeleton which provides structure, and some degree of protection, although their exoskeleton is rather light and thin. They are rather different from other species, as they have the ability to take flight thanks to their four large wings, which they get their common name from due to the visible florescent blood flowing through them. Each wing is capable of moving independently from each other, and Blood-wings are rather agile in the air. Despite their nimble bodies and thin frame, their superb grip strength and flight muscles allow them to easily pick up objects or people during flight. Blood-wings also notably have a split mandible, allowing for wider bites to be taken. Their jaws have sharp edges and contain many thick spines in their interior. They have extremely powerful jaw muscles that are capable of crushing bone and tearing through flesh, as well as a long tongue covered in sharp plates for cleaning flesh off of bones.

Similarly to the Mantids, another corruption species, they seem to have additional thorax segments, though having two additional thorax segments, rather than just the Mantids one additional segment. The two upper thorax segments of the Blood-wings contain the wings, two per segment. The wings themselves are more than likely derived from arms. The lowest thorax segment contains the functional arms of the creature, causing their shoulders to be quite low, giving them an odd appearance.

Blood wings are very social creatures, forming fiercely defended, fast growing, "hives" containing a few hundred or more individuals, where they will breed and gather. It is important to note that these "hives" lack the hierarchy that earth's ant colonies or bee hives do. Blood-wings will communicate amongst each other through many noises, such as chirps, clicks, chitters, hisses, and other insectoid onomatopoeia, in a sort of language that not many have cared to research further.

This hive building social behavior is used by the corruption to establish strong beachheads for their other forces, as a few blood wings can multiply quickly and discretely, forming large hives before they can be found, and claiming areas for themselves that will be used by the corruption as landing zones for their invasion forces.

Blood-wings often swarm their enemies in combat, preferring to single out foes when possible and eliminate them quickly and ruthlessly, although it should be noted that elimination in this context means rendering them incapable of continued fighting, not necessarily killing them. Thankfully, Blood-wings are rather frail, having the thinnest and lightest exoskeletons out of all of the corruption's species.

Blood-wings are ruthless hive builders that traumatize their foes and can doom planets by their mere presence. They are the reason why despite amazing victories where corrupt fleets are kicked off of attacked worlds entirely, those rare victorious planets still remain highly unsafe. Blood-wing hives are hard to find and eradicate, allowing remaining corruption to gather and still pose a constant threat, such as is the case on Chorus and Altaviridis

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