Vespiform Vespiforms were an ancient and wise insectoid species . They had hives in the Silfrax Galaxy . Biology . Vespiforms were a species of insectoids which resembled oversized wasp s . Adults were about three metre s tall . They were powerful creatures , with large stingers which could be regrown within hours of use . Vespiforms could change into other species . The transformations were accompanied by a glowing , purple - pink haze and left behind morphic residue . When in another form , Vespiforms were genetically compatible with the mimicked species . They could interbreed with members of any other species . Any offspring would be locked in one form until put under stress , when they would turn into their Vespiform shape . ( TV : " The Unicorn and the Wasp " ) Technology . Vespiforms had telepathic recorder s . These devices held the essence of the Vespiform cultural heritage , and served as a sort of " instant school " . The entirety of what it meant to be a Vespiform could be transferred from the recorder to the mind in a matter of seconds . The device also transferred the thoughts of any being in very close proximity to it as well . Were the thoughts of a non - Vespiform to blend with the information contained in the recorder , the results could be unpredictable . ( TV : " The Unicorn and the Wasp " ) History . Some time prior to Earth ' s 19th century , the Vespiforms developed intergalactic space travel . This allowed at least one of the species to travel from the Silfrax Galaxy to Mutter ' s Spiral . At least one Vespiform went to Earth , presumably for the purposes of research . ( WC : " " ) In 1885 , this Vespiform ( simply known as Christopher ) met Clemency Eddison in India and had a child with her . He gave her a large , purple crystal set in a necklace , which she called " the Firestone " . When he soon thereafter drowned during a monsoon , the Firestone became her only memory of him , and she wore it often . Some months later , Clemency gave up their child for adoption ; the morés of the time frowned on unwed parents . The child became a reverend , Arnold Golightly , a vicar in the parish that included the Eddison ' s estate . At the age of forty in 1926 , he discovered his Vespiform nature . Because of his proximity to the Firestone — in reality a Vespiform telepathic recorder — his Vespiform cultural heritage was transferred to him from the device . The transfer also included some of its wearer ' s thoughts . Lady Eddison was reading an Agatha Christie novel at the time of the transfer , so Golightly absorbed some of the aspects of the characters in the novel . Golightly started committing various murders in the style of an Agatha Christie novel . The Doctor , Donna Noble and Agatha Christie herself investigated his crimes , and forced Golightly to publicly reveal his Vespiform nature . Ultimately , Donna killed him by throwing the Firestone into the lake . Golightly followed and drowned , but relieved Agatha of his connection with her in his dying moment . ( TV : " The Unicorn and the Wasp " ) The Sixth Doctor encountered them on Earth , in 1999 . ( PROSE : " Millennial Rites " ) Long after the events at Eddison Manor , the Firestone was dredged up from the lake and sold at auction to Jack Harkness . In the 21st century , he claimed to be in possession of the only Vespiform telepathic recorder known to exist on Earth . ( WC : " " ) The Quark s attempted to use Vespiforms to attack the Second Doctor and Jamie McCrimmon on Gano , but the creatures attacked the Quarks instead . ( COMIC : " The Killer Wasps " ) Jack Harkness had heard whispers of a war between Quark rebels and Vespiforms , but he could not confirm these stories . ( WC : " " ) A film adaptation of H . G . Wells ' " The Time Machine " , which according to the Sixth Doctor " hadn ' t even been bad enough to be good " , featured Vespiforms and Quarks . ( PROSE : " Synthespians™ " ) References . When Donna started to remember her adventures with the Doctor , one of the many creatures she saw was the Vespiform . She asked her grandfather why she could she see a " giant wasp " . ( TV : " The End of Time " ) River Song once spent an weekend with a Vespiform named Roderick . ( PROSE : " Suspicious Minds " )