D&D Basic Monsters: Giant Wasp

Giant versions of most natural creatures are a staple to fantasy settings, so also the giant wasp. A classical D&D monster it appeared in the original Monster Manual along with other giant insects such as the Giant Ant and the Giant Beetle.

In the real world insects are limited to what size they can achieve by the way they breathe - through tubes in their exoskeleton. To reach gigantic size, the oxygen levels in the atmosphere needs to be a lot higher than what it is today. The largest insects that lived, the Meganeuropsis, or Giant Dragonfly, lived during an age when there was more than twice as much oxygen in the air than today, and even it only reached a body length of 40 centimeters.

The design here is largely based on a real world beast called the king of wasps.