Aspid Mother

"Carries the eggs of its young inside its belly. Can hatch and birth its young as needed to deal with intruders. Shamelessly uses its own young as a weapon against its foes! Appalling, yes, but I do admire its resourcefulness. Good hunters do not always make good parents."

Aspid Mothers are enemies in Hollow Knight. They are the females of the Aspid species. Carrying their eggs inside their bodies, they can hatch and birth their young to attack threats.

Behaviour and Tactics
Births Aspid Hatchlings one at a time, up to a maximum of fifteen. Two more hatchlings are spawned upon defeat.

The primary danger is that she spawns Aspid Hatchlings. Keep an eye on the hatchlings and strike the mother either when there is an opening, or once the hatchlings have been dealt with.

Location
The Aspid Mother can be found in the Forgotten Crossroads, mainly next to the Tram station.

Trivia

 * In a Kickstarter update, she was referred to as Bulbous Hummingnit (Female):
 * "The female of this species is just as aggressive as the male. Appallingly, it uses its own young as a defensive measure against intruders."


 * A particularly large dead Aspid Mother can be seen where the Glowing Womb is collected, although it isn't fought.
 * When Dream Nailed, she gives the dialogue "Breed..."
 * She is referred to as "giant_hatcher_corpse" and "HATCHLING_QUEEN_CORPSE" in the game's files
 * Pre-release Aspid Mother featured a reddish body colour rather than bright orange.

References

Mère Aspid Матка аспидов Madre_aspid Matka Aspidów