Demonic Sawfly

Careless black magicians let these pests into the world by accident. Each resembles a winged, rust-brown daddy longlegs, and when it rears up on its spindly legs it stands 5 or 6 feet tall.

Its bite deals 1-4 damage, and the next round the wound bleeds the victim for another automatic 1-4 before the sawfly bites again. Once per day it can call a cloud of gnats and flies against its foes, as the summon swarm spell.

At will the creature can shrink to the size of a normal insect, and it does so automatically when reduced below half its hit points. Among real gnats or flies it is almost impossible to pick out; a searcher needs a successful Intelligence check rolled on 1d100 to spot it. While tiny it cannot attack, but it avoids any blow with a successful save vs. wands; if a blow does land, it is squashed flat.

A sawfly guarding its eggs gains +2 on all attack rolls and saving throws.

Sawflies crave the company of a swarm, but their kind is scarce on the Prime Material Plane because a female lays only one or two eggs a year. To compensate, they tag along with ordinary swarms of gnats and flies, leaving them only when they need blood. They are cunning enough to know that intelligent prey takes some guile, and they lurk in closets, cupboards and cabinets to ambush the unwary; such hiding spots may hold a little treasure.

A sawfly can live fifty years and hibernate for up to a century when times are hard. Any warm-blooded creature passing within 20 feet wakes it, and it attacks at once, starving. Its rare eggs are hidden jealously in dry nooks of houses, castles and similar shelters.

Sages guess they began as parasites on the monstrous natives of some other plane, much as fleas and mosquitoes live on creatures here. Their shrinking lets them slip into buildings as easily as any common bug. The blood and eggs are useful in enlarge and reduce spells or potions, and powdered wings can serve as a component for spells like summon swarm.