Avatar:Buzzard wasp

<infobox theme-source="nation"> <image source="image" /> <title source="name"><default>Buzzard wasp</default></title> <group> <header>General information</header> <label>Habitat</label> <label>Status</label> <label>Bending</label> <label>Uses</label> </group> <group> <header>Chronological information</header> <label>First appearance</label> <label>Last appearance</label> <label>Voiced by</label> </group> <header>Image gallery (0)</header> </infobox> The buzzard wasp is a chimerical creature native to the Si Wong Desert.

History

While Team Avatar was lost in the desert upon losing Appa, they kept traversing until night fell. With all of them exhausted and without directions, several buzzard wasps were circling above which was pointed out by Sokka who was hallucinating on cactus juice. After finding a sand-sailer, they found and unwittingly entered a large hive inhabited by buzzard wasps and were consequently attacked by the colony. During the frenzy, a buzzard wasp captured Momo, prompting Aang to rescue him with the use of airbending. In anger, the Avatar sent an air blade several hundred yards, knocking the creature down.

While flying across the desert, a ravenous Appa sought out food and entered a hive of buzzard wasps. The creatures angrily began to chase the bison, who managed to ward them off with an air blast.

Anatomy

These creatures are six-legged insects that have a vulture-like head and a bee or wasp-like body, hence their name. They have brown, white, and gray stripes on their abdomen, and their necks are dark gray with a light gray ruff at the body. These creatures also have wings attached to their thorax and are capable of flight. Their beaks and talons are razor sharp.

Behavior

A buzzard wasp hive consists of multiple burrows carved into terrain.

The buzzard wasps live in caves they dug out of Si Wong Rock. They primarily feed on carrion, including dead humans, but will hunt live game if they are desperate for food. Their predator-like tendencies make them very dangerous. They will attack in an entire colony if provoked by intruders in their nest and become aggravated by loud noises.

Once buzzard wasps secure prey, it is first taken back to their hive, chewed up and partially digested, and lastly turned into a gooey, honey-like substance on the wall. The honey-like substance is produced commonly by females and has the flavor of rotten penguin meat, as Sokka remarked when he tasted it. It is used to feed their young.

Overall, buzzard wasps serve an important purpose in the Si Wong Desert ecosystem, as they remove corpses which are potential sources of pollution and disease.

Connection

Buzzard wasps seem to be a combination of a wasp and a turkey vulture, the latter of which is commonly referred to as a turkey buzzard in accordance with the fauna's namesake. Turkey vultures are large scavenger birds that are distinguished by their bald heads.

Trivia

• While Sokka was under the hallucinogenic effects of cactus juice, he called them "circle birds".
• Their name and appearance is similar to the vulture bee, a type of insect that feeds on rotting meat instead of nectar. Coincidentally, Sokka said the honey dripping from the walls of the buzzard wasps' hive tasted like rotted meat.
• Many years after the Hundred Year War, a pro-bending team named itself the Bau Ling Buzzard Wasps.
• Buzzard wasps are known for their single-mindedness.
• Buzzard wasps are the most common enemies faced by Team Avatar in the online game Sozin's Echo.

See also

• Fauna in the World of Avatar