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The name or term "Arachnids" should not be confused with Pseudo-Arachnid.

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Arachnid logo

The Arachnids (more commonly known as Bugs, and Archies[1]) are a hostile alien species that have conquered many planets across the galaxy, creating an empire that is directly at odds with the human-dominated United Citizen Federation. They were originally believed to be mindless creatures, devoid of what made a being truly sentient. When Johnny Rico and Carmen Ibanez dissect Arkellian sand beetles, the biology teacher states that the Arachnids have millions of years of evolution behind them and are, in the case of survival capability, the perfect species. They have the ability to colonize planets "by hurling their spore into space" and possess a social structure which perfectly compliments their mental capabilities.

Inicial quote The only good Bug is a dead Bug! Final quote

Starship Troopers (1997 film)

As the Arachnid War progressed, it became clear that they have a caste system, with each subspecies filling a specific niche in Arachnid society. Brain Bugs and the God Bug have effective psychic abilities that can be used to control all bugs in a given colony, and to communicate with their confederates across space.

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Most types of Bug are, overall, less intelligent than an average human, save for those belonging to leadership castes such as the Brain Bug, Control Bug, God Bug, and the Queen.

History[]

As the United Citizen Federation expanded its territories across the Galaxy, it came into contact with the Arachnid Species, who had by that point created a vast empire of their own. The Federation initially considered the Arachnids to be a less advanced civilization, below the notice of such higher beings as themselves. However, to avoid conflict, the region of space the Arachnids had colonized was Quarantined to prevent any human settlement within it. However, unofficial colonies were created on Arachnid planets, often ending with the Arachnids discovering such installations and attacking them in force, wiping them out in short order. This fate was suffered by many an unwary colony, such as at Port Joe Smith, where the inhabitants were cut down and the bodies left behind, bloody and torn, to adorn the empty streets like grotesque decorations.

When a meteor left the Arachnid Quarantine Zone and destroyed Buenos Aires, the Federation claimed that the Arachnids were responsible, and that this action was a clear and certain declaration of war. The following conflict would come to be known as the first Bug War, later followed by the Second Bug War.

Species[]

Name Image Notes
Chariot Bug Chariotbugmaquette Not a deadly threat, these bugs are workers and not fighting bugs.
Sentinel Bug St2005-sentinelbug-game-1 A small support Bug. Seen during Battle of Hesperus
Worker Bug Sti-k12-game-workers2 A variant of the Warrior Bug. These bugs were used for borrowing tunnels.
Rhino Bug Bug rhino A large shortsighted worker.
Drone Bug Drones1 Juvenile Warriors. These bugs are smaller and have a weaker shell than the adults
Warrior Bug 2afj15j The most common Arachnid. These service as the main bulk of any invasion force
Tiger Bug Tiger This species is a sub-variant of the Warrior with much tougher armor making it a more deadly threat.
Fire Warrior Bug BUGFireWarriorBug1 The Fire Warrior is more than meets the eye; even though it has the same abilities as the Warrior, they are resilient to the lava pools and all Federation fire-based weaponry[2]
Royal Guard Bug BUGGuardBug1 A verocious variant of Warrior Bug. These deadly bugs are commonly encountered defending colonies with either a Brain bug or Queen bug.
Royal Warrior Bug Kyeroyal Like the Royal Guard Bug this Arachnid defends colonies and command bugs.
Super Tank Bug Sti-supertankbug-game-1 A heavilly oversized Warrior; one was encountered at Fort Casey
Rhino Bug St2005-rhinobug-game-1 Encountered on Hesperus
Spitter Bug St-plasmawarriorbug-game-2
Spitter Bug SSTSpitterTC1 Encountered during the Battle of Kwalasha. These bugs fired a ranged green spray at its enemies.
Gunner Bug STEGunnerBug1 Encountered during Battle of Valaka. A large bug with projectile weapons.
Chameleon Bug Bug chameleon A silent deadly soldier; capable of turning invisible.[3]
Blaster Bug St2005-blaster-game-1
Hopper Bug Hopperbug1 A bug capable of flight. These bugs pounce upon targets of opportunity from above.
Firefly Kyefirefly A flying bug similar to Hoppers. This Bug shoot flames.
Rippler Bug Kyerippler A suicidal flying bug
Bomber Bee BomberBeeTC1 Encountered on Gehenna
Pyrofly PyroflyTC1 Enountered on Gehenna
Inferno Bug BUGInfernobug1 Acclimatized to the extreme heat. Its fire-resistant carapace not only repels most fire-borne attacks but also conventional small-arms. Glands near the rear of the Bug produce a highly viscous flammable liquid, similar in consistency to napalm, which then feeds into an organ that ignites and launches it.[4]
Stinger Bug StingerBugTC1 Encountered on Gehenna
Immolator ImmolatorTC1 A large bug that ejects an incendinary substance. Suicial when heavily wounded.[5]
Scorpion Bug Scorpion1 These large Bugs fire deadly Plasma from their tails which is capable of crushing bunkers and knocking out M11 Babars
Plasma Grenadier Bug Plasmagrenadier1 These are effect mobile artillery bugs, but lack accuracy.
Tanker Bug Vlcsnap-9094 A large deadly bug that spews acid from its mouth.
Plasma Bug SSTPlasmaBugTC1 These huge bugs are are used as heavy artillery capable of providing fire support on the ground, as well as firing at ships in space.
Bombardier Bug Vlcsnap-40493 These small suicide bugs fire themselves towards enemies and detonate.
Chaser Bug PRMO SST MOB Chaser 00 sm A suicidial bug encountered at Fort Casey[6]
Bug Larva Bug larva Infant bug. Limited perception.[7]
Consort Bug Bug consort Breeder Bug. Indicates the presence of a Queen Bug.[8]
Control Bug Vlcsnap-71659 These small bugs are capable of infecting a human body taking over the host for infiltration
Brain Bug Vlcsnap-278681 These highly intelligent bugs command Arachnid armies on worlds.
Queen Bug Sti-queen-film-1 These leadership bugs presumably breed to expand the species.
God Bug God bug The leadership of the Arachnid species. One of these brainwashed a human Sky Marshal to obtain his intelligence information.

UCF controlled bugs

Name Image Notes
X-Bug St2005-xbug-game-1 A genetically modified Royal Warrior created by Millitary Intelligence. It was designed to attract as many Bugs from as far as two hundred klicks into its direction through the use of a special pheromone generated by the X-Bug.
Intel Bug Vlcsnap-2013-08-04-02h15m53s57 These captured Warriors were experimented on and mind controlled by human pychics. Effective against standard Warriors.

Notes[]

  • The name "Arachnid", derived from "spider" in Greek, apparently originates from "Pseudo-Arachnids", the antagonist looking like giant spiders from the novel. However, none of the Arachnid species resembles a spider by far.
  • The term "Arachnids" was originally an alternative name for the Pseudo-Arachnids in the Starship Troopers board wargame.
  • In Starship Troopers: The Miniatures Game, the Arachnids are referred as the Arachnid Empire.
  • In the Miniatures Game, SICON Military Intelligence believes the Arachnid Empire is a bio-engineered race created to serve as the military of a different alien species, similar to the Zentradi from Robotech (also known as Macross in Japan).
  • The Bugs from the Roughnecks: Starship Troopers Chronicles combines aspects of their novel and film incarnation. Like the former, they are extraterrestrial invaders, but as within film, they are neither "tool-makers" nor technologically advanced civilization. Instead, Arachnids directed their course of evolution to match any technology an advanced civilization might possess, gaining certain bio-mechanical traits in the process. This is shown in specimens such as the Transport Bug, which evolved to become the Arachnids' equivalent of a human starship.
  • An arachnid sticker can be seen in "Match Masters", an IOS/Android game, on the sticker album named "Area 51", third page, with the number 504 on it.

Appearance[]

References[]

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