Care of Kwama Content . Care of Kwama By Cirantille While the insectoid creatures known as " kwama " originated in Morrowind , do not be surprised to find them elsewhere in Tamriel . The creatures have been transported , intentionally or otherwise , to many different parts of the world . The barbarous Dunmer , for example , keep the creatures in " egg mines " because they find them a delicacy . " Good eating ! " as one toothless old sot told me . I cannot imagine what passes for good food among the Dark Elves that they would eat insect eggs . But the Dunmer may be on to something , in their own backward way . Kwama are , indeed , excellent miners . They prefer to live underground , creating elaborate tunnel systems as they build their warrans . The creatures consume organic material from the earth and appear to actually excrete minerals they cannot digest , such as gemstones , gold , and iron . As an experiment , the Aldmeri Dominion is transporting kwama eggs to various outer territories . There , small kwama mines can be established . The kwama can dig to their hearts ' content - - if they have hearts - - and our kwama keepers can pull the minerals from their refuse . Much more efficient than using Argonian captives . The bugs , at least , feed themselves . There are several different kwama types within the species , and each must be dealt with in a different way . Kwama scribs are the kwama young and are easily managed . They ' re voracious but strongly influenced by food . Scribs hatch from long eggs and grown from the size of a large man ' s foot to the length of a large dog . The scrib may evolve into one of the other types , or it may die . Kwama forager s explore the outer mine areas and are known to search the surface of the world for new territory . Kwama keepers have learned to " steer " foragers toward potential mine sites and away from Dominion settlements for kwama undermining can cause sinkholes . It is important for a kwama keeper to know when a forager can ' t be managed , as the forager must be dispatched before it can return to the mines . Workers are the most useful of the kwama and will tirelessly dig away , expanding their warrens and searching for food . It is possible for a kwama keeper to use a goad to push workers toward or away from specific sites , but risky . Workers will fight back , and an uprising in a kwama mine is a violent and dangerous event . A few scribs grow up to become warriors . While some uneducated souls think that killing the warriors keeps the rest in line , this expert disagrees . Killing the warriors causes more scribs to evolve into the mine ' s protectors and soon you have nothing but the violent creatures to deal with ! What ' s more , the warriors can command lesser kwama , which means an uprising is almost certain . If a warrior must be killed , do it quickly , and away from the rest of the nest ! Finally , the kwama queen . She is a huge , bloated creature , nearly immobile and very rare . Not all hives have queens . Many are just offshoots of greater hives . But all eggs are born of a kwama queen . If one encounters a queen , move away quickly ! They are not pleasant creatures and cannot be influenced . Every kwama in a hive will throw itself at a perceived " invader " to protect the majestic corpulence of their queen .