Outh Bees

It is a common misconception that everything the the Myrdhor Desert wants to kill you. Outh Bees are quite friendly and for the most part harmless. Now keep in mind, harmless does not mean defenseless. They are fast enough to catch a running horse, and the phrase "death ball" was coined based on their defense of their hives.

— Jasper Cameron, Leader of the Bronze Ravens.

While not a usual pairing in the rest of the world, once one understands the inner workings of the dwarven settlement Outh Mead it becomes quite clear that it is a match made in, well booze if we are being perfectly honest.
The dwarves, being dwarves, brought their craftsmanship and ingenuity, most notably contributing Glass panes for what was likely the first greenhouses in the world, as well as clever ventilation systems to prevent said greenhouses from becoming ovens. And, most importantly, the "invention" of the spiggoted bee hive. No more would one need to tediously lift out slats to harvest honey. Admittedly, this was entirely be accident. Someone left out an empty keg (or 12) with the tap still in following some celebration or another. It just so happened that new queens left the hive to settle new hives that night. The next day the druids would not hear of disturbing the newly formed hives. And once honey production started serendipity appeared.

The druids, of course, brought not just their knowledge of the bees and plants, but are also more than willing to use their magic to make sure that the gardens at Outh Mead flourish, much to the bees benefit.

Basic Information

Ecology and Habitats

Living in the Myrdhor Desert the Outh Bee is one of the few known pollinators that allow the plants there to continue to reproduce. This has led, over time (time being used in the geological or evolutionary scale here)  to several unique adaptations.
First, due to the nature of most other animals in the Myrdhor, stingers proved to be quite useless, and as such have gone the  way of most useless things as far as evolution is concerned.
Second, due to the range required for a single hive to thrive, Outh Bees are probably the fastest flying insects in the world. There are several reports through out the years of those who arent familiar with the desert and its proclivities disturbing a hive to get at the moisture and honey stores inside, thinking that they can use the quickness of their mount to escape. The bees flew them down and cooked both person and mount, much to the delight of other native wildlife. This need for speed, while useful in defense, is more due to the hives territory, as worker may need to fly hundreds of miles to reach the the only likely source of pollen in the desert for the year.
This brings us to the third, and fourth, adaptations. As bees usually use their stingers for defense, how do stingerless bees defend their hives, especially as most haves exist outside of Outh Mead and the protections that it offers. First, the hives are closer to the strength of concrete structures than the rather fragile hives of other honey bee species. They are incredibly hard to break into and should one do so they will meet the Final defense. You see Outh Bees hive populations are typically order of magnitude bigger than those of other species, population wise. Should the hive be threatened, the bees will swarm out and engulf the aggressor, whereupon they start vibrating their flight muscles in much the same way they do to heat or cool the hive. Specifically the heat part is important here. They quite literally cook to death whatever is attacking them.

Scientific Name

Apis outhicus

Conservation Status

Domesticated

Geographic Distribution

• Myrdhor Desert