Dropwig

Dropwigs are fast-moving, insectoid ambush predators. While fragile, they are skilled at hiding in plain sight and quickly taking down their prey. Dropwigs are significantly more prevalent when playing as, and completely absent as (except in ).

Appearance
In reference to their name, Dropwigs resemble large earwigs. They have black bodies accented by subtle reflective stripes - which can range from a light teal to deep purple - along their abdomens and thoraxes. Additionally, they have thick mandibles and short, curved legs at their front, and cerci (a pair of appendages at the rear of the abdomen) at the back. Two antennae also crown their heads, which may be tipped with a gradient in the same hue as their stripes.

When lying in ambush, Dropwigs are palettized to blend in with their environments more effectively.

Combat
A single throw is enough to kill a Dropwig. If room geometry permits, the Dropwig may be killed by throwing a spear at (or immediately below) its ambush location. Otherwise, Sliding or backflipping can be used to safely bait out their drop attack, giving an opportunity to immediately retaliate with a Spear. Having a tamed can also be beneficial as it can incapacitate or kill the Dropwig.

Stealth
Dropwigs can only attack by ambushing, making them reliant on their line of sight directly underneath them. Because of this, stealth is quite effective against them, as long as extra care is taken to look for them. They can be recognised from their shape, habits and the areas they can be found within. Seeing out of place objects, such as a or  on the ground when there is no evidence of  having passed through the area can indicate a Dropwig perched above. Once located, the simplest course of action is to find an alternative path around them - if their line of sight is not crossed, they do not attack. In cases where avoiding their line of sight is impossible, other methods such as using s to obscure their vision may be used.

It should be noted that Dropwig graphics are drawn behind foreground objects such as chains and vines, which can make them harder to detect in cases they choose to hide behind some.

Evasion
Dropwigs move fast enough to outpace Slugcat's normal walking speed, but have a 10 second long timer after which they give up chase; as well as having a tendency to pounce towards their prey - both of which can be utilized against them. Using advanced movement such as sliding can help with both evading the drop attack itself, as well as keeping enough distance for the timer to run out. Additionally, when in more vertical areas, it's possible to bait a Dropwig on the ground to fling them away, sometimes even into death pits. Furthermore, other creatures such as Vulture Grubs can be used to trick them out of their perching location.

Ambush
Ambushing is a behavior that consists of up to four stages: locating a perch, laying in wait, the ambush attack itself and, optionally, pursuit if the ambush attack is unsuccessful.

When a Dropwig enters a room, they look for a suitable spot on the ceiling to perch. When searching for a perch, they often ignore all creatures which do not pose an immediate threat (even prey such as ).

Once a spot has been found, they curl up on the ceiling and their colors are dimmed to match their environment. In this state, they have a symmetrical profile akin to a downward-reaching claw. They wait until a creature either passes underneath or gets too close to them.

As prey nears their line of sight, they tense up, opening their cerci in preparation for the attack. Once directly underneath, they drop from the ceiling and attempt to execute one of their two attacks - slashing or grabbing. If the ambush is successful, the Dropwig drags their prey back to their den. It should be noted that Dropwigs are capable of dropping at an angle and often do so should prey linger too close to their line of sight for too long. In this case, their cerci slowly widen the closer they are to attempting the ambush.

After an unsuccessful ambush, they spend roughly 10 seconds chasing prey, periodically leaping at and attempting to slash or grab their prey. If the target is not caught within this time, they lose interest in it and begin to look for another perch. If the prey is caught, the Dropwig takes it to their den. It should be noted that they are often aggressive immediately after exiting their den.

Slash
Slashing has an 80% lethality rate. There is an 80% chance for it to be executed when dropping from the ceiling and a 20% chance for it to be executed when on the ground. After a slash is executed, it cannot be used again for 4.5 seconds.

Grab
Grabbing has a 20% lethality rate when executed dropping from the ceiling, but is never lethal when executed on the ground. There is a 20% chance for it to be executed when dropping from the ceiling and an 80% chance for it to be executed when on the ground.

Bait
Dropwigs are capable of placing bait - typically useful objects or food items - beneath their perch in order to lure prey into an ambush. They may either spawn with this bait or find it in the world. Once suitable bait has been acquired, the Dropwig grabs it with their front mandibles and carries it with them until they settle in their ambush spot, upon which they drop it beneath them.

Dropwigs have a chance to spawn with a bait item at the beginning of a cycle.



If playing as Hunter, Dropwigs cannot spawn with, thus the chance for them spawning with no item is increased to 76.5625% (49/64).

Relationships

 * -|Vanilla=


 * -|Downpour=

Variants & attributes
Dropwigs' stripes vary in color. Their thoraxes, antennae, and cerci vary in length and thickness, and their antennae have a 50% chance to bear tip gradients of the same hue as their stripes.

Trivia

 * Dropwigs were added in the 1.5 update.
 * Multiple Dropwigs are technically able to perch on the same spot, but prefer not to.
 * Lower dominance Dropwigs give up spots to higher dominance Dropwigs.
 * Like other Slugcat-sized creatures, Dropwigs' corpses can boost the player's speed in tunnels when held.
 * Dropwigs, due to their highly aggressive nature, are capable of grabbing and may even move them from their spawn point, resulting in unintended behavior.
 * Besides Scavenger Treasuries, the Pearls that Dropwigs may rarely spawn with are the only other instance of a naturally "respawning" pearl.
 * Dropwigs, despite their name, more closely resemble real-life vinegaroons than earwigs.
 * Dropwigs have the ability to maul and kill