This page is a Stub, meant to be transcluded into S01E08 – Valid Identification Required rather than viewed directly.
Liam and Garbo are aware of two different structures within the invae — hives and nests. Both are initially created by a metahuman insect shaman, but how they develop from there differs slightly.
Hives are lead by a queen, summoned by the shaman into a specially chosen host[1]. Once the shaman has brought over a queen, his usefulness is usually at an end — he can only ever bring over a single queen. The queen takes over the entire hive, sometimes even killing the shaman. Every spirit in the hive is subservient to the queen and almost directly under her control. Killing her kills any true-form spirits, leaves hybrid- and flesh-forms bereft of guidance, and destroys the summoner's capability to use magic forever.
Nests are a much smaller affair, some even so small as a solitary spirit. Individually, nesting invae are far more independent, intelligent, and adaptable than hive-based invae. Instead of a Queen, a shaman of a nesting insect spirit can turn an existing nymph into a Mother. The death of a Mother doesn't have the same destructive effects as the death of a Queen, except for the shaman. In fact, while a shaman can create more than one Mother[1], most do not, as the destruction of any one has the same consequences for the shaman as the destruction of a Queen.
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 This is not what Street Grimoire says, but having some differences between the two types keeps things interesting