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From Warhammer 40k - Lexicanum
→Society
==Society==
Vespids live in [[Hive]]s of their own making and are ruled by a leadership class,{{Fn|11a}} that is protected by '''[[Stingwings]]''' called '''Royal Bodyguards'''.{{Fn|11b}} At the time of contact with the Tau Empire, the Vespid dwelt primarily in floating sata-cities on their gas giant homeworld [[Vespid (Planet)|of the same name]]. Living in a highly segmented civilization, there were over 300 individual Vespid city-nations at the time of contact with the Tau Empire but they warred with one another infrequently due to a weapons technology level that made total war too costly to justify.{{Fn|1}}
When hive leaders are in their defenseless pupa stage of life, they are taken outside of their Hives by their Royal Bodyguards, so that they can undergo "conditioning" by teams sent by the [[T'au Empire]]. The [[Ordo Xenos]] has long sought to capture one for study and experimentation,{{Fn|11a}} but the Vespid's leaders are also protected by the T'au. The [[Shadow Hawks]] [[Chapter]] once attempted to do so for the Ordo, but the mission ended in failure due to the T'au Empire's intervention.{{Fn|11d}}
