A drab, unassuming species, Hypnotist Crickets are, to the untrained eye, indistinguishable from the common brown cricket that inhabits most of the same territory as the hypnotist cricket. It has formed a mutualistic relationship with the Scarlet Siren, a spherical carnivorous plant up to 0.5 meters in diameter and emblazoned with protective spikes. In exchange for continuously producing a magical song that lures prey to the plant, Scarlet Sirens provide shelter in the form of an internal cavity that acts as a residency chamber and food in the form of sugar-rich secretions.
The hypnotist cricket inhabits the coastal, magic-rich, temperate rainforests of north West Ciradon. It's range is spread across territory owned by the Three Dynasties and the Empire of Tassendrel.
Non-Reproductive: The behavior of free-roaming hypnotist crickets is largely identical to that of the common brown cricket, prompting questions about this apparent exception to the competitive exclusion principle. The leading theory is that the two species are niche partitioning in an as of yet undiscovered way. Siren-bound crickets on the other hand fill their days with two activities, feeding and singing, often simultaneously. The song of the hypnotist cricket rarely ceases, and largely only do so to mate, defecate, or leave the nest.
To keep the cramped living quarters clean, hypnotist crickets defecate on the rim of the residency chamber and kick the frass into the digestive pool of the central chamber below. If the crickets detect vibrations emanating from the central chamber they will defecate further away from the rim, wait until the source of said vibrations succumbs to the digestive acid, and then dispose of the waste as normal.
Reproductive: Hypnotist crickets exhibit two different mating strategies depending on whether they have claimed a Scarlet Siren. Free-roaming hypnotist crickets engage in promiscuity as opposed to the more selective behavior of siren-bound crickets which exist as a mated pair for as long as they can retain control of their siren.
When a female siren-bound cricket is ready to lay her eggs, she will temporarily leave the safety of the siren, and venture a few meters away from the plant. After locating a suitable area, she will hurriedly dig a shallow burrow in which she will oviposit her eggs and bury with a thin layer of dirt before rushing back to the safety of the internal gall of the Scarlet Siren.
Hypnotist crickets were created by Mira (Zather ZSX) on the World of Tyrrell discord.