Gusano, as a caterpillar baby, with his mother.
Gusano was the unofficial name for the child of Mariposa. By unctual year 3889, he was a butterfly youth who had not yet cocooned and had not grown wings, making him no more than seven or eight seasons old.
When Gusano was just a baby caterpillar, his mother battled a dragon beetle to protect him. In the aftermath of the encounter, she rocked him softly on a tree stump and sang him a moonlight lullaby.
Two or three years later, Mariposa and her child, along with several other butterflies, were trapped in a blizzard ambush by the moths. Mariposa and Gusano emerged victorious, with little Gusano wielding only a stick as his weapon, but the two were the only butterflies to survive the encounter.
Gusano had been a willful and stubborn grubling, and Mariposa found that she'd been required to offer direction numerous times before the child finally carried out her instructions.
Gusano as a toddler, helping his mother fight the moths.
The Lost Treasure of Torlynn[]
Gusano was among the butterflies who were captured by moths and later taken prisoner in Torlynn Castle. He was freed by Mariposa and "Four" Wheeler after they successfully raided the castle. At first, Mariposa told him that she would not be returning home with him, having sworn an oath to surrender to the moths, but the moths later released Mariposa from her word.
The Quest for the World-Breaker[]
Gusano returned to the butterfly grotto. Though Four was eager to invite him to Torlynn Castle and train him how to use weapons, Mariposa was against the idea of him visiting or learning the use of human implements. Later, when Mariposa related to the butterflies the story of the Flightless One, it was Gusano's curious inquiries that led Mariposa to realize that the story was, in fact, a map that would lead surviving butterflies to the hidden location of the Flightless One herself.
After Mariposa discovered the existence of a second butterfly colony, she and Gusano, along with the other surviving members of Mariposa's colony, were invited to relocate there.
Gusano as an adolescent.
The Curse of the Fate Shifter[]
Gusano lived with his mother in the new encampment. He often enjoyed spending time playing with Talla Unica. When his mother was banished from the new colony by the butterfly king, he remained at the camp. The butterfly king had recognized Gusano's royal lineage, and chose Gusano as the next in line should anything befall him.
When the Giant war machine was launched in unctual year 3891, the butterfly king assembled a group of butterflies to defend their home. The king insisted that Gusano be protected, however, and assigned Archer and Slingshot to stay behind and guard him at the butterfly settlement. When the king was killed in the ensuing encounter, leadership of the butterfly clan fell to young Gusano. He was made the new butterfly king.
One of his first royal proclamations was to rescind his mother's exile, inviting her back to the colony. Too young to be a self-sufficient ruler, Gusano retained Mariposa as his advisor. He also abolished the previous butterfly decree over preventing the use of proper names, if only so he could continue to call her "Matta."
Embarrassment of Riches[]
Gusano continued to rule over the butterfly colony, with his mother consulting with him on important decisions and Four frequently sparring with him and teaching him how to wield a diamondite sword. After Mariposa and Four were transported to the Old Age, Mariposa frequently thought of Gusano, wondering how he would survive without her to protect him.
The Veil of Souls[]
Gusano sent butterfly scouts to hunt for his missing mother, ignoring the colony's need to gather supplied for the coming winter. Without Mariposa to guide his decisions and his royal commands, he grew petulant and demanding of the others colonists. He remained unaware that one of his subjects, Archer, planned to become close to him so that she could one day bear his child and then kill him.
Trivia[]
Gusano as a baby caterpillar.
Gusano first appeared in A Butterfly's Tale, but was not given a name until The Quest for the World-Breaker. The name was suggested by Four; although the butterfly people generally do not use proper names, it seems to have stuck. His name means "caterpillar" in Spanish.