Hoto

The Hoto was a fire insect, a small RahiRahiThe Rahi were the biomechanical wildlife of the Matoran Universe, built largely by the Brotherhood of Makuta, ranging from background fauna to engineered war beasts. native chiefly to Ta-MetruTa-MetruThe fire district where Ta-Matoran perfected their craft and powered Metru Nui's industry for thousands of years. and Ta-WahiTa-WahiTa-Wahi was the volcanic region of Mata Nui surrounding the Mangai Volcano, encompassing Ta-Koro, the Lake of Fire, the Charred Forest, and the Ta-Wahi Beach.. Its defining trait was the heat its body gave off, enough to let it burrow through soil and even bore into some buildings, which made it a persistent nuisance wherever it took hold. (BIONICLE: Encyclopedia Updated)

A pest of the fire regions#

Hoto bugs were treated as pests on both Mata NuiMata Nui (Location)An island created by accident on the Great Spirit's face, home to the Matoran for a thousand years. and Metru NuiMetru NuiThe city beneath Mata Nui functions as the Great Spirit's brain, housing the Matoran whose labor keeps the god alive.. Like other Rahi they were the work of the MakutaMakuta (Species)Shadowy Antidermis beings and the Brotherhood's elite, Makuta commanded darkness and shaped the Matoran Universe's fate., bred from viruses and liquid protodermis, and after the Great Cataclysm they lived both in Metru NuiMetru NuiThe city beneath Mata Nui functions as the Great Spirit's brain, housing the Matoran whose labor keeps the god alive. and in the Ta-WahiTa-WahiTa-Wahi was the volcanic region of Mata Nui surrounding the Mangai Volcano, encompassing Ta-Koro, the Lake of Fire, the Charred Forest, and the Ta-Wahi Beach. region of the island above. (BIONICLE: Encyclopedia Updated; BIONICLE: Makuta's Guide to the Universe)

Heat and burrowing#

The Hoto's body could give off enough heat to tunnel through the ground and even through some buildings, the trait that made it both a marvel and a hazard. Makuta could turn them against the Matoran too. During the Great War, Hoto under his control harassed TakuaTakuaAn Av-Matoran hidden on Mata Nui as a Ta-Matoran, who gathered the Toa Stones, served as Chronicler, and ultimately accepted the Avohkii to become Takanuva, the Toa of Light. as he travelled through Le-WahiLe-WahiLe-Wahi is a region on the island of Mata Nui, inhabited by the Le-Matoran and Rahi. Formerly subject to the power of Teridax, the region is no longer under that influence. in search of the Toa stones. (BIONICLE: Encyclopedia Updated; BIONICLE: Quest for the Toa)

What became of them afterwards comes from the writer rather than the published story: Greg Farshtey later said that many Hoto left the Matoran UniverseMatoran UniverseA civilization of biomechanical beings living inside a colossal robot, destroyed when Teridax seized control. for Spherus MagnaSpherus MagnaA desert world of ancient conflict that became the merger point of the Matoran Universe and Bionicle's true endpoint. once it was reformed. (BIONICLE: Encyclopedia Updated)