News:

For some, the heat of summer nears its end. . . And for others, the blooms of spring appear.

Main Menu

Insects

Started by PapaGoins, February 04, 2015, 05:25:19 PM

Previous topic - Next topic

0 Members and 2 Guests are viewing this topic.

PapaGoins

What is generally accepted as the relative size of insects compared to other beasts in the Redwall World?  I am specifically interested in wasps, hornets, and bees.

Cheers!

Hickory

Bees are said in Loamhedge to be of the same size to us, able to perch on a finger (or paw)
I am the master of my fate:
I am the captain of my soul.

PapaGoins

hmmm.... seems incongruous.

LT Sandpaw


That's the problem with the Redwall stories, we have no idea what the scale is to everything else. Apples are a good example because a normal apple would be larger then a mouse, however we see Mice carrying apples so they have to be human scaled, but what about the scorpion that killed Gabool it was said to be massive.


"Sometimes its not about winning, but how you lose." - John Gwynne

"Facts don't care about your feelings." -Ben Shapiro

Izeroth

 Trees seem to be smaller than in real life (if the trees were to scale, they'd be taller than skyscrapers), and many insects seem to have been increased in size. The scorpion Gabool had, for instance. Also, the stag beetle that Cluny slew. You could probably get a good idea of the scale of everything by looking at some of the art in the books.

PapaGoins

It has an impact on the scope of the story.  I'm 2/3's of the way through "Eulalia"... If flying insects were of relative size, then wasps and hornets would at least be relatively the size of humming birds.  That brings a whole new level to the amount of damage a swarm could do, how loud they would be, the amount of territory they would require.  If Sagetip's statement holds true, then they are only a nuisance.

Captain Tammo

Quote from: Izeroth on February 04, 2015, 08:47:27 PM
You could probably get a good idea of the scale of everything by looking at some of the art in the books.

But different illustrators made depicted the scale differently (this is more apparent when comparing international covers)
"Cowards die a thousand times, a warrior only dies once. The spirits of all you have slain are watching you, Vilu Daskar, and they will rest in peace now that your time has come. You must die as you have lived, a coward to the last!" -Luke the warrior

MeadowR

Certainly a little confusing when you really think about it! I guess I didn't think about it too much before, and perhaps that was a problem for Brian, he kind of saw the story for what it was - stuff just worked and that was that - and as such a consistent sizing of things against each other didn't really come to the forefront? I don't know. :p

It seems to me, if anything, all animals were bigger than their real life counterparts, one way or another. So insects should be fairly large, but still smaller, next to a mouse. So the trees and such would need to shrink a little...?
~*Meadow*~

Season Namer 2014

Wot, wot!

Quote from: LT Sandpaw on February 04, 2015, 08:05:36 PM

That's the problem with the Redwall stories, we have no idea what the scale is to everything else. Apples are a good example because a normal apple would be larger then a mouse, however we see Mice carrying apples so they have to be human scaled, but what about the scorpion that killed Gabool it was said to be massive.

:) Sharks also seem to be out of scale if creatures were human-sized. In The Bellmaker, the sharks were about as long as the Pearl Queen, which would be huge for the creatures on board. Anyway... I thought of this from Martin the Warrior. Hope it helps :)
" Bees! There were literally millions of the insects. They swarmed on shrubs, bushes, trees, and all over the ground"... " It was hard to distinguish Grumm from the bees that swarmed on him. They were all over his furry body, from footpaws to eartips, covering him completely and buzzing dangerously".
"Get him! Grab that spy! I want his head!"
Basil chuckled. "What's the matter? Isn't your own head good enough? No, I don't suppose it is. Ugly-looking brute, aren't you?" -Basil to Cluny the Scourge (Redwall)

"The second you change "I can't" into "why not", you can do anything in the world."

JangoCoolguy

They're as big as story calls for. :p

Lady Ashenwyte

Some are oversized while others are shrunk or they are human size.
The fastest way to a man's heart- Or anyone's, in fact- Is to tear a hole through their chest.

Indeed. You are as ancient as the soot that choked Pompeii into oblivion, though not quite as uncaring. - Rusvul

Just a butterfly struggling through my chrysalis.

The Skarzs

Thanks to guests, I found this topic.

It would be an interesting addition to the story if insects were increased in size like some things seem to be (like the crab, some birds, the scorpion, the stag beetle whose pinchers Cluny had on his helmet,  the adders, and the crows.) Of course, there were many things that seemed to shrink (foxes, some birds, the walking stone- a tortoise-, trees, and various other things.) It might be a different kind of story if everything was "proportional."
As for referring to the artists' illustrations for size, not all artists depicted the same things the same way. For example, Skarlath from Outcast of Redwall was depicted landing on Sunflash's hand by the artist, and unless he was supposed to be that massive, then the artist did not depict the true size of the kestrel.
Cave of Skarzs

Cave potato.

Sebias of Redwall

I wonder how big a spider is supposed to be. I mean, some of those critters can get pretty big in real live. imagine if spiders were bigger than the mice in Redwall :) I guess it would be kinda like the spiders in the Hobbit.
"I can only speak two languages. English and rubbish." ~Brian Jacques

"No half-heartedness and no worldly fear must turn us aside from following the light unflinchingly."

"Evil labours with vast power and perpetual success - in vain: preparing always only the soil for unexpected good to sprout in."

~JRR Tolkien

Long live the RRR!

The Skarzs

Cave of Skarzs

Cave potato.