My entry for the first round of World-craft! This round was a SEED round, and the lottery number was:
3) Liquid. Species with this code can be found in or around liquids.
2) Herbivore
5) Hive mind
13) Projectiles

These small arthropods live inside pitcher plant-esque plants that grow on the sides of trees. Both the arthropod and the plant live off of dead leaf matter that falls into the toilet bowl shaped plants, which are always filled with a liquid soup that is a mixture of digestive fluid and water. The arthropods keep the plants' insides clean of anything but plant matter and their own waste.

The arthropods are hosts to a fungus which grows from their backs through the cracks in their shells. This is by design, and the arthropods are in no danger from the fungus. The fungus feeds while the arthropod is within the plant, living off of the waste both plant and arthropod produce. In return, the arthropods are given a defense mechanism not quite unlike any other. When in danger the arthropod will brush the top layers of the fungus from its back at its attacker, the spores causing immediate respiratory issues, usually leading to death. The fungus grows back within a day, no worse for wear.

These spores also double as a means of communication between the arthropods and their fungal growths, allowing them to alert the vast colonies in any one part of the forest to any number of scenarios. Fire, floods, predators, and mating season is almost instantaneously known throughout the colony. The arthropods are blind, so they rely on their symbiotic relationship with the fungi completely.

So yeah, that's my entry! I had a lot of fun with it and can't wait to see what everyone else came up with!

Art (c) Scott Francis