Info
The original author of this page was fandom user Kekcroc.
Rewritten by
XRaggiX.
Thanks to
Light_Nate for providing the beautiful images and drawings for the entity!
Huge thanks also to
AlwaysWandering,
centurys lute,
ReyDay,
Praetor3005,
ForestIsWatching for the valuable critque on the page!
And again to
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When you first enter the Backrooms, one of the most common entities you can encounter are Deathmoths. Their debated origin as a result of Liminal Echo, or as a mere product of evolution, has made them a great subject of heavy research.
-Doctor N.Togliatti, M.E.G.'s underseer of the scientific department.
CONCORD ENTITY CLASSIFICATION SYSTEM
HABITAT(S): Majority
3EXX
Description
Deathmoths are giant, moth-like predators. They are often found in dimly lit corners and abandoned rooms, waiting for prey to get near. Survivors of encounters with the flying creatures describe their arrival as completely silent, hearing their wings emitting noise only when it's too late to react.
Found footage of a Deathmoth taken in the Movile Caves of Level 8.
Unlike most Backrooms entities, Deathmoths are distinctly gendered visually and physically. The gender differences extend not only to their physical characteristics but also to behavior, feeding, biology, and role inside the food chain of The Backrooms. Males are generally as big as a hawk, relatively calm, and find their predators in Deathrats and Curabitur Birds. In stark contrast, females are almost four times the size of males, highly aggressive, and don't have any natural predators in the wild.
Biology
Generalities
Most of a Deathmoth's biology can be paralleled to the general characteristics of Frontrooms moths. Like their counterparts, they have a fluffy, robust body paired with dark, empty eyes. These, in particular, are composed of little receptors that react immediately at the smallest variation of light, granting them high reaction speeds even in the darkest areas. This can become a fatal liability when venturing through their territory, turning a flashing or even the slightest flicker of illumination into an instant death sentence, as Deathmoths are directly attracted by it.
A simple sketch of a Deathmoth from above.
Being a primal trigger, light can also be used to distract and kill Deathmoths in case of close encounters. The most common survival technique includes shining a flashlight or torch directly at the moth’s eyes. This can momentarily disorient it and give a chance to strike the confused entity. Another tactic uses light sources as bait: throwing them to a different location diverts the attention, giving time to escape.
Beneath their eerie appearance lies a lightweight yet resilient exoskeleton, offering protection against attacks from other entities while still letting them move around swiftly in small rooms and corridors. Their wings, which for females can reach a length of 3 meters, serve as tools for rapid lunges toward prey or threats. Paired with extravagant designs and huge sets of mock eyes, their wings are laced with a fine, powdery substance that can irritate skin and lungs. These two features act as key defense mechanisms, particularly in males. Due to their inability to defend themselves in combat, males use their wing patterns to scare off any possible threat. If the predator decides to pursue the aggression, the Deathmoth will flap its wings, releasing its powder and slowing down the attacker.
Another relevant difference between the two genders is the female's capacity to produce acid. This is created by specialized glands, stored inside pockets on both sides of the mouth, and can be ejected at any moment at will. The acid, which seems to be a mixture of perchloric acid1and trifluoroacetic acid2, can dissolve most organic materials with ease. The same body structures can be seen inside the males, where the acid is instead replaced with viscous, liquid silk. Similarly to spiders, the silk is light but resistant and is produced in the form of long, solid filaments.
Life Cycle
Eggs taken outside of their nest.
Deathmoths start their lives as eggs that can be found in the mother's nest. Said eggs are around five times the size of chicken eggs3 and have a distinct brownish color mimicking the nest, allowing for them to be invisible to the naked eye in the dark. Despite their color, the eggs are slightly translucent. With the use of a strong enough light, it is therefore possible to reveal the form of its larvae inside.
As for the nests, they are built in secluded areas by the males with various organic debris and bones combined with silk filaments they produce. The nest's walls and inner sections are then covered with the powder produced in the wings, which acts as a first layer of protection. The environment is kept tidy by the males, while the temperature stays constant thanks to the insulating properties of the silk. The atmosphere remains at a high humidity, which is necessary for the eggs' survival.
Drawing of a newborn Deathmoth larva.
Once hatched, Deathmoth larvae resemble a cross between caterpillars and leeches. They are aggressive beings, voraciously attacking and consuming every organic material in sight not parented to them, even if still alive. The feeding is assisted by males, who directly carry and dissect food to the children. At birth, the insect-like creatures are as big as a human hand and weigh slightly less than 100 g. If the feeding process remains consistent over time, the larvae grow rapidly and in 2-3 months enter a pupal stage to transform into adults.
To start the process of metamorphosis, the larvae reach abandoned areas away from their nests and produce a filament that encapsulates them completely. After around 1 month, the transformation will be complete, and the newborn females will scavenge new areas to create nests that will then be constructed by the males. Here, protected by the safety of the nest, the mating process and the resulting laying of the eggs will happen, perpetuating the cycle.
Behaviors
Females are usually aggressive and highly territorial, attacking at first sight, even if not directly disturbed. This can be connected to their role as hunters and protectors of the nests and the younger generation. On the other hand, as previously stated, male Deathmoths are known for being non-aggressive to wanderers and instead prefer to stay distant and fly away if in close proximity. This behavior is explained by their lack of any type of direct defensive mechanism, paired with their role as a nest-keeper and feeder of the larvae. When male Deathmoth populations become excessive4, nest overcrowding can occur. In such cases, males often migrate to exterior areas, where they are commonly observed fluttering near dim or flickering light sources in small groups.
The behavior can also vary depending on the environment they live in. In general, deathmoths tend to be less aggressive inside secure levels, where their primary threats are less present and food can be obtained more easily. Places like the rooms inside Level 13 and Level 5.2 become the perfect examples of habitats where, due to the absence of natural predators, the Deathmoths tend to be less territorial, attacking others only if in need of food. On the other hand, inside Level 2765 their protective nature is at its maximum extent, being challenged by the constant flow of entities.
It must be cited that Level 5 seems to have become the Deathmoths' level of choice. They have completely taken over major sections of the Terror Hotel, mainly inside dark areas of hallways, bedrooms, and boiler rooms. Here their behavior finds a middle ground from the ones stated above, due to both the presence of Deathrats6 and a favorable environment, which brought them to construct intricate networks of nests.
Another influence that has changed the entity's conduct since their first appearance is the presence of The Humans, in their territories. In fact, the continued push and growth of settlements took away a lot of hunting and nesting grounds for the females. This, united with groups which made the removal of entities their primary goal, has contributed to increasing the Deathmoth's territorial and aggressive attitude inside major inhabited levels.
Hunting tactics
A simple representation of a Deathmoth nest.
The role of food provider, one that can prove to be difficult in The Backrooms, is taken by the females. Deathmoths tend to hide in dark corners and abandoned rooms, waiting for any prey to ambush. Having found their target, females will launch a relentless assault, latching onto the victim with their six legs, stunning them with the powder present in their wings and hurting them with beams of acid. Their captive will then be dragged inside their nest, where the process of consumption begins. Using their needle-like teeth, female Deathmoths tear into their victim’s flesh, while tough materials are dissolved with their potent acidic spit for easier consumption.
If the captives of the females are not deemed useful as a food source, they can become part of the building process of nests. The males chop down from the dead corpses skin, bones, and flesh. This is then used as a base structural component of the nests, giving them both resistance and strength and helping to keep the nest's temperature constant. In cases of a lack of victims to use as building materials, Deathmoths will instead scavenge for already dead corpses outside of their territories.
Taming
Being tranquil by nature, males are one of the few entities with a certain degree of tamability. Experiments demonstrated that males tend to like grey Almond Water, probably due to its sweet taste and high nutritional value. The liquid acts as a calming agent, rendering them docile by dulling their senses. If the process is applied constantly over extended periods of time, the moth can be seen returning to the wanderer who fed it, exhibiting a rudimentary bond in a reward system relationship. It must be noted that if the feeding is stopped, even after the taming is complete, there's still a high chance that the bond will decay.
If done alone or by a small group, it's advised to tame male Deathmoths after they leave their pupal stage if given the choice. It can require 9 to 12 months if not imprinted immediately, rendering it less useful as a male Deathmoth lives only 2 to 3 years in the wild and only a couple of years more in captivity.
Although not big enough to fly around their owner or capable of fighting, trained moths can carry out simple tasks. These include:
- moving objects to designated areas,
- signaling the presence of danger nearby,
- sending fast messages and warnings like passenger pigeons,
- being used as decoys or distractions while fighting.
In addition, the wings' powder can be harvested from the males and used in combat and medicine thanks to its sedative properties, as it regenerates after a few days. This makes Deathmoths an important asset inside colonies or outposts, as the practice of taming males directly after they exit pupal stage has become widespread7. The process still remains perilous and strongly criticized, noting that females, which can be recognized only after the metamorphosis, need to be slaughtered as they cannot be tamed.
Discovery
Humans faced Deathmoths since their first arrival in The Backrooms. This is evidenced by the writings of The Lost, whose earliest recorded texts, dating back to 77 B.C., mention the presence of "The Moths of Terror." These writings not only describe the creatures, but also document humanity’s earliest attempts to confront them. The Lost devised primitive yet effective methods to hunt Deathmoths, specifically targeting females. By luring them out of dark areas using torches, they would ambush the creatures, killing them with makeshift spears crafted from scavenged materials. Directly attacking the entity was used both as a way to clear the areas that in the future would become outposts and to use them as a material source.
In fact, parts of their body were used in different ways. The exoskeleton was combined with scavenged iron parts to craft a lightweight but sturdy body armor, which remnants can still be seen today in traditional dresses of The Lost Suns. The powder was harvested from the wings, and the acid was drained from the mouth; both were used to empower basic weapons like arrows and swords and put in the outside walls of communities to keep them safe. At last, the wings and the fur were used both to create pillows and, in some rare cases, were pasted together with the powder and mixed with other components as a base of some kind of traditional medicine. Every piece of evidence is also shown in the exhibits of the I.M.B.H inside Level 216.
Interestingly, a singular stone tablet has been obtained after a successful bargain between Leo Castellos and members of The Eternal Repository, which the group claims to have found inside the deep tunnels of Level 51. This seems to confirm elder legends of The Lost passed down between generations that described an ancient civilization that used to tame not only male but also female Deathmoths. According to legends and now confirmed inscriptions, this ancient civilization had a unique symbiosis with Deathmoths. Warriors from the community are said to have tamed massive females, not just as companions but as war mounts. These airborne behemoths became integral to their military tactics, commanding the Deathmoths to launch devastating attacks with their acidic spit while diving at their enemies. This brought them to control large areas of ancient land, becoming one of the greatest forces of their time.
Despite this tantalizing glimpse into their practices, the tablet is frustratingly incomplete. Key details—such as the location of this community, the taming specifics, and how they mitigated the inherent dangers of taming female Deathmoths—remain unknown. Scholars are divided on whether this is a true historical account, as The Repository denies the existence of other tablets. Possible future collaboration between the M.E.G. and The Lost may facilitate a comprehensive understanding of the historical account.
Do's and Don'ts:
Do:
- Stay away from female Deathmoths.
- Use almond water to tame males if in the right conditions.
- Remove lightsources if you find yourself near nests.
- Light the deathmoths' pupae on fire if you find them.
Don't:
- Get near if unsure about the gender.
- Interact with nests.
- Take out eggs from nests.
- Tame males without supervision.
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