The trapweaver is one of the “lower” species in the plant/animal symbiotic biosphere. Trapweavers live in small colonies of about a dozen individuals. They weave elaborate structures from the grasses of the great plains. When prey animals enter these structures the weavers work together to pull the structures down, entangling the prey. The weavers then stab the prey to death with their sharp beaks.

The void opal is a precious gem that forms in space. (The words “void opal” and the image of a shining, multicolored gem came to me at the same time. Void opal. I love the sound those words make.)