Whenever I heard Bridgeen Gillespie's name, I always think of the Gallivespians in Philip Pullman's His Dark Materials trilogy. Here's their description on Wikipedia:
Gallivespians are a humanoid race from yet another universe that appear in the third volume of the trilogy. They are small in size, no higher than the width of a man's hand. As a defence to make up for their size, they have spurs on the backs of their heels which can deliver a poison that will kill at worst, and paralyse and cause intense pain at best. This poison must be given time to build up to full potency, and so cannot be used over-frequently. (more here)