Welcome back to Arthro-Pod! In this episode, Michael explores arthropods of the Elder Scrolls universe, including those featured in the games Arena, Daggerfall, Morrowind, Oblivion, Skyrim, and Elder Scrolls Online.
Examples of game play
In-game image from Elder Scrolls: Arena. Via UVL.
In-game images from Elder Scrolls II: Daggerfall. Via Moby Games.
In-game images from Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind. Via Moby Games.
In-game images from Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion. Via Moby Games.
Comparison of graphics from remastered and original Oblivion. Via VGTimes.
In-game images from Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim. Via Moby Games.
Spiders
Spiders as seen in Arena. Via Elder Scrolls Fandom.
Spiders as seen in Daggerfall. Via Elder Scrolls Fandom.
Frostbite spiders as seen in Skyrim. Via Elder Scrolls Fandom.
Various spiders as seen in Elder Scrolls Online. The design of the sprites is a step down from Skyrim. At least the skin of the last example seems to be inspired on a real-world spider. Via UESP.
Crabs
A mudcrab in Morrowind. In-game, the crab mimic stones by tucking their legs under their bodies. They have a wide distribution, being found along all
waterways (fresh and saltwater) in all regions (tropical, temperate, arctic). Via UESP.
A mud crab in Oblivion. This design is more obviously a crab. Via UESP.
A mud crab in Skyrim. Note the much improved design, especially the details of the mouth and jointed legs. Via UESP.
Mud crabs in Elder Scrolls Online. Via UESP.
A giant mud crab in Elder Scrolls Online. The design seems to be based on a squat lobster or some other non-Brachyura decapod. Via UESP.
Hermit crabs in Elder Scrolls Online. Via UESP.
Moths and Butterflies
Blue butterflies in Skyrim. Via UESP.
Monarch butterflies in Skyrim. Note the backwards wings. Via Elder Scrolls Fandom.
Monarch butterfly in Elder Scrolls Online. This is a good representation of a real-world insect. Via UESP.
Green butterfly seen in Skyrim. These were added in an expansion and are a reskinning of the existing monarch butterfly by changing the orange to green. Extremely lazy on the part of the developers. Via UESP.
Luna moth in Skyrim. Another well-designed mob based on a real-world insect. Via UESP.
A purple butterfly in the sewers of Solitude in Skyrim. These were added in an expansion and appear to be a reskinning of the existing luna moth sprite. Kind of lazy after the effort put into the original Luna moth. Via UESP.
Mara's blush butterfly in Elder Scrolls Online. The design seems to be based on some kind of Pieridae, similar to the ESO blue butterfly. Via UESP.
Ancestor moth in Skyrim. While this mob was added in the Dawnguard expansion, the design is surprisingly angular and unrefined for Skyrim. The skin seems to be based on some kind of Saturniidae. Via UESP.
A bright moons lunar moth in Elder Scrolls Online. While the accurate antennae and legs are appreciated, the floppy wings that don't flap together kill this design. Via UESP.
An Evermore painters moth in Elder Scrolls Online. It looks like they reskinned the existing moth sprite with a skin based on a real-world sunset moth. Via UESP.
Ants
Ants marching across a cut stump in Skyrim. While they're small, it's possible to make out a black head, red thorax, and black abdomen. They're likely based on real-world carpenter ants. Via UESP.
Termites
Termite mounds and termites in Elder Scrolls Online. It appears that only soldier termites are present. Via UESP.
Cockroaches
A cockroach in Elder Scrolls Online. This is a surprisingly good design coming from ESO. Via UESP.
Bees and wasps
A bee in Skyrim. These are modeled off real-world western honey bees. Unfortunately, the wings don't flap as they do with butterflies, which breaks the immersion when you see them. Via UESP.
A bee hive in Skyrim. While it's cool that this is modeled off of a real-world nest, this is made by bald-faced hornets and other wasps, not bees. Which is unfortunate as honey bees sometimes make exposed combs on tree branches and other objects and they look really cool. Via UESP.
Honey comb, which is somehow harvested from the paper "bee nests". Also note the dartwing and luna moth wing at the bottom of the image. Via UESP.
Bee hives in Elder Scrolls Online. Via Elder Scroll Fandom.
Giant wasp variants in Elder Scrolls Online. Via UESP.
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Giant wasp nests in Elder Scrolls Online. These are based on real-world hornet nests, maybe bald-faced hornets like the bees in Skyrim. However, it's unlikely that paper nests would be able to support the weight of human-sized wasps. Via UESP.
Beetles
Torchbugs flying around the environment in Skyrim. Like other insect mobs, torchbugs are only found in temperate zones of the province. Unlike real-world fireflies, the entire abdomen of torchbugs glows instead of one of a few sternites. Via UESP.
A torchbug in Elder Scrolls Online. The design is somewhat refined from that of Skyrim, with more obvious abdominal segments. Dewbugs use the same sprite as torchbugs. Via UESP.
A beetle in Elder Scroll Online. What even is this design? What are those mouthparts? It just looks so bad. Via UESP.
Thunderbugs and assassin bugs are reskins of the generic beetle sprite in Elder Scrolls Online. The thunderbug colors are nice, but they still fall short because of the failure of the underlying sprite. Via UESP.
A shalk in Morrowind. The derpiness is endearing, although the filiform antennae don't fit with the stag beetle design. Shalks have a magical fire attack, which is an interesting choice for a beetle. Via UESP.
A shalk in Elder Scrolls Online. It's so bad. They reskinned the generic beetle sprite and lost all of the enjoyable aspects of the Morrowind shalk. I guess they're still associated with fire? Via UESP.
Dragonflies
Blue and orange dartwings in Skyrim. They also come in an orange variety. It's recognizable as a dragonfly, although the small size of the sprite restricts how many details are possible. Dartwings are found around water sources in temperate areas, like any real-world dragonfly. Dartwing bodies can be used as alchemical ingredients. Via UESP.
Centipedes
Centipedes in Elder Scrolls Online looks like a badly made Halloween decoration. What is with the weird antennae and oversized "jaws"? At least they only have one pair of legs per body segment like a centipede should. Via UESP.
Cicadas
Cicadas in Elder Scrolls Online. While some real-world cicadas create mud chimneys, the design falls short on account of the jumping legs and orthopteran abdomen. Maybe the designers mixed up cicadas and locusts since they are sometimes called locusts in the United States? It would have been nicer to see a skin based on periodical cicadas, the red and black would pop against the brown mud in a way the blue and grey doesn't. Via UESP.
Scorpions
A giant scorpion in Elder Scrolls Online. Via UESP.
A fire scorpion, chromatic scorpion, and deadlands scorpion in Elder Scrolls Online. How do you make something fantasy? Add spikes. Lazy design here. Via UESP.
Mosquitoes
A kotu gava in Elder Scrolls Online. This is pretty obviously just a giant mosquito. The design is ok but could be better. Via UESP.
A kotu gava brood mother in Elder Scrolls Online. The skin is based on an Asian tiger mosquito (Aedes albopictus). Via UESP.
Ticks
A hoarvor, or giant tick, in Elder Scrolls Online. What a terrible design when real-world ticks are so weird looking and would be scary is they were the size of a dog. Via UESP.
Arthropods with no real-world equivalent
A shellbug in Morrowind. Shells bugs do not move and act like an ore rather than a mob. They can be mined with a pickax for chitin, which can be used to make armor. Via UESP.
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Nix-hounds in Morrowind and Elder Scrolls Online. Nix-hounds are insectoid pack hunters native to the island of Vvardenfell in Morrowind, where they fill the ecological role of wolves. Via UESP.
A scrib in Morrowind.
A kwama forager in Morrowind.
A kwama worker in Morrowind.
A kwama soldier in Morrowind. Note how it is a bipedal worker with a kwama forager in the thoracic hole.
A kwama queen in Morrowind.
Kwama are eusocial arthropods that are native to Vvardenfell in Morrowind. Scribs (immature phase) and foragers are frequently seen on the surface, while workers, soldiers, and a queen are found in tunnels. Kwama eggs are eaten throughout Morrowind and are gathered from egg mines. Via UESP.
A kwama scrib in Elder Scrolls Online.
A kwama worker in Elder Scrolls Online.
A kwama warrior in Elder Scrolls Online.
A kwama queen in Elder Scrolls Online.
The kwama in Elder Scrolls Online lean more heavily into an insectoid design compared to Morrowind, but the new horror aesthetics make them lose some of their former charm. Via UESP.
A chaurus and chaurus hunter in Skyrim. Chaurus are Skyrim's replacement for the eusocial kwama of Morrowind. However, their ecology is less fleshed out. They're insectile in design and are found in the same underground localities but, except for the shared name, the player wouldn't know that they're supposed to be the same species based on gameplay. Via UESP.
Silt strider in Morrowind and Elder Scrolls Online. These 60' tall arthropods are used for transportation after the carapace is hollowed out for seating. Wild silt striders are not seen in the game, although desiccated remains can be found in the Ashlands. Via UESP.
Ash hoppers in Morrowind and Elder Scrolls Online. Via UESP.
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Elytra are large humanoid mantids from the Shivering Isles, an alternative plane to the material world of Mundis. Real-world mantids do not have elytra, only beetles do, so the name is a bit of a misnomer. Via UESP.
Scarabs
Scarabs appear in various works of art and other designs in Arena, Morrowind, and Elder Scrolls Online, particularly in association with the Redoran faction and Dwemer. However, scarab beetles are not seen in any of the games (except for a reskinned beetle in Elder Scrolls Online that's called a giant scarab but it's the same awful beetle design so let's ignore that). Via UESP.
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