Listening to Sting of the Wild by entomologist Justin O. Schmidt right now. I'm at the chapter about Tarantula Hawks, the wasp with one of the most painful stings in the insect kingdom. Intrigued by his description of their vibrant metallic hues, I had to google them to see what they look like:
And I thought to myself, hmmm, this looks familiar...
Aha, I know where I've seen this before!
I had to confirm with the Fallout wiki that I wasn't misremembering, and sure enough, it was Tarantula Hawk (Latin name Pepsinae) DNA that Dr. Borous spliced to create Cazadores in Old World Blues.
And if the sting of a regular, normal sized Tarantula Hawk is unbearably painful to the point that nobody who gets stung can retain motor control, I dread to think what a Cazadore sting must feel like.











