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Razor Flea — Description
As you venture through the grassy plains and sweeping savannas of an arid land you may find the wide open spaces suddenly disappearing. The grass around you will start to climb higher and higher, until they tower over your head like bamboo. The vegetation around you will become a thick curtain, engulfing you in a sea of green. There will be no trees to be found, yet it will feel like a choking jungle. No matter which way you look or go, the walls of grass will still surround you. Many will find themselves lost in this strange environment, as the grass blinds your vision and hides your tracks. You will stomp and push your way through, but it seems like you are going nowhere. As you stop to get your bearings, you may get the feeling you are being watched. With the endless vegetation around, though, it is impossible to tell. But then, a flash of movement! An orange blur darting past the corner of your eye! When you whip around to look, though, there will be nothing. There is no beast, and the grass remains still. In time, you may see it again, but you will fail to catch it. Again and again, it shall be gone before you can spot it. It is then you realize that you are not alone in this green ocean, and that you best find your way out soon. For this land is home to the Razor Fleas, and they are not nearly as dangerous as I just made them out to be. Apologies, I just got caught up in the moment.

The Razor Flea is a beast that carries many names, much like the Bladed Prowler. Some regions refer to them as Grass Tiger Fleas (or simply Tiger Fleas), while others call them Saw Backs. As far as I know Razor Flea is a more common name, so I am going to stick with that one for this entry. That aside, the Razor Flea is a large insect that prowls grasslands and savannas, but only those that possess tall grass species. They won't be found in those wide open grassy fields that you may picture at first. Sure, they may wander into these areas in pursuit of food, but they prefer to stay in places where the grass grows taller than you! Here is where they are in their element, using the thick foliage to hide their presence and disorient their prey.

What makes the Razor Flea the perfect creature for such a habitat is their interesting body shape. Their form is laterally flattened, giving them a thin and tall silhouette. Such a design may seem strange and fragile, but it is actually quite useful in this environment! While other creatures must plow their way through the thick grass to travel, the Razor Flea can slip through it like a fish cutting through a flowing river. They don't need to push and fight against the vegetation like we do, so it gives them quite the advantage! Combine that with their incredible speed, and you got a creature that can zip through the thickest of fields without the slightest trouble. Though my story above may be a little dramatic, it wasn't lying about their speed and agility. Most encounters with them last for only a second, as they zoom by without warning and vanish without a trace. Since they can slip through the blades and stalks, they hardly disturb the vegetation around them, which hides their approach and escape. There were so many times during my travels through the grasslands where I would be right in front of a running group of these insects and not realize it until they were long gone. There would just be brief flashes of orange and then a quiet rustling of the grasses, which I often mistook for the breeze. I have even heard stories of hunting parties who would have Razor Fleas dart between them while they were only feet apart! I can imagine that these speedy creatures have inspired many tales of horror within these grasslands, as some invisible presence haunts you without leaving a trace.

These skills are what they rely on when they are hungry, as it is hard to fight what you cannot catch! Though I have made them sound quite scary (apologies again for that. I don't wish to defame a wonderful creature like this!), they are not ravenous predators. They don't possess sharp teeth or really any chewing mouth parts. Instead they have a proboscis, as they subsist on a liquid diet. One of their main foods on the menu is blood, and they will get it from animals that wander through their grassy land. With their speed and stealthy movements, they are capable of hunting down beasts and closing in without notice. They will stick close to their target, but they will not strike until opportunity presents itself. When their prey stops to rest or feed, they shall sneak up from behind and jab their sharp proboscis in. Due to its sharpness and coating of numbing fluid, prey will not feel a thing when the strike occurs. Then the Razor Flea will quickly suck out a serving of blood before zipping back into the grass. In most cases, they will not drink their fill on the first strike, as their target will move and disrupt the feeding. So they will often drain away blood bit by bit through multiple feedings, only stopping when their bellies are full or when the prey becomes too difficult to fool. While their blood drinking ways sound terrifying, they don't usually kill their victims. Their targets are often large beasts, as they are slow and possess plenty of tasty fluids. When a single Razor Flea feeds on them, they may feel some drowsiness but not much else. If a Razor Flea attacks a human-sized target, they will usually only strike once and will rarely get a full meal from it. Such folk are too aware of their surroundings and are prone to moving. This makes them risky targets, so the Razor Flea will often go after something a bit slower. However, Razor Fleas can also hunt at night, where they will feed on sleeping animals. Their thin bodies will allow them to sneak up without a sound, and easily nab a drink. Many creatures make their nests in the tall grasslands, and this species takes advantage of that. That also means they may try to feed on you if you decide to set up camp within this environment. In this case, they may be dangerous, as multiple specimens may drink from you at once, which can cause anemia. This may not kill you outright, but it will leave you weakened in a dangerous land. Though it is a scary possibility, it is one that can be easily avoided. Do not leave yourself exposed if you are sleeping in the tall grass, protect yourself with some thick layers. Or perhaps don't go dozing off in the middle of cramped savanna! Get yourself to a safer location, you fool!

Though blood is a major staple of their diet, they do feed on other things. Eggs are another favorite of theirs, as their proboscis can puncture the shell and suck up the yolk. Since others build their nests in the grasslands, they will search for those that have eggs. Often a parent remains close by as a guardian, so they must use their stealth and speed to sneak past. If they are caught in the act, they will zip back into the grass and disappear. If they cannot, they are quite capable of defending themselves. Though thin, they have a tough segmented exoskeleton to protect them. They will also face their foe head on so that the enemy has very little to target. They will dodge attacks and wait for an opening, looking for the right moment to pounce.

When their foe is exposed, they shall use their powerful hind legs to launch themselves forward. As they jump, their speed and strength will send them spinning through the air! This acrobatic move is impressive enough, but it isn't just for show! Razor Fleas are topped with wickedly sharp spines that are tough as any blade. When they are spinning, these sharp projections turn them into flying saw blades! Those who are in their path will receive deep cuts and nasty wounds as the soaring flea shreds through their skin. Often the flea will not go for a direct hit, as they could get stuck in a large, tough target. Instead they aim for a glancing blow, so that their teeth may slice clean through and allow them to stick the landing. An attack like this usually only needs to be performed once before their foe calls it quits and runs! This maneuver is what gave this species their name, as well as some infamy. This flying shredder they become is quite intimidating, and it can do a lot of damage to a small target like us! A glancing blow from this attack can easily cut down to the bone (though some say they are capable of fully severing a limb), and such an injury can easily become fatal if one does not act quickly. This is why it is best not to provoke these creatures and corner them. If you don't want to be a meal, just scare them off and call it good. They are quite skittish, so it shouldn't be hard.

Despite this, folk are quick to say that Razor Fleas do this maneuver quite often, and that this is how they kill people. If you listen to the tales, you would think these fleas are constantly flying about like a sawmill with wings! Some even say that Razor Fleas can clear away entire swaths of tall grass by shredding them with their back spines, and that is why we have short grassed savannas! Preposterous! Such a method consumes a bunch of energy, so I can't imagine them using it all day. However, I cannot ignore the fact that people have indeed been injured or killed by these creatures. The deep lacerations are unmistakable, but I argue that some of these incidents are not intentional. Sure, those who have trapped a Razor Flea will be the target of an attack, but I think stories of people be sliced out of the blue is due to another reason. When Razor Fleas jump, they do so with a lot of speed and strength. This can launch them for quite a good distance! When they attack a foe, they are well aware of the target right in front of them. However, they don't really know what is past their enemy and hidden by the walls of grass. I think that some incidents are a result of being in the wrong place at the wrong time. The poor soul just happened to be in the path of a flea who was sailing blindly through the air. The creature did not know they were there, but they cannot stop themselves mid flight. It is an unfortunate accident, but an accident nonetheless. I mean, I can't tell you how many people and things I ran into when traveling through the grasslands! The grass is thick and requires some force to push aside, so you can easily barrel into another traveler if you aren't careful! Bad enough that I knocked over some poor folk with my sudden entrance, now imagine what would have happened if I had knives glued to my body!

Chlora Myron

Dryad Natural Historian

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Was thinking about fleas at one point and decided to do something with their weird flattened bodies. With such a thin shape and speed, I figured they would work as a living saw blade!

Also I just realized I got to edit my entry on Arctic Wolf Fleas, because it says that there are no fleas close to the size of them. Whoops! I guess past me didn't think that through!