Swooping Snitchbug

Swooping Snitchbug
File:Swooping Snitchbug(PikminNPC).jpg
Appears in	Pikmin, Pikmin 2
Scientific name	Scarpanica kesperens
Family	Scarpanid
Areas	Pikmin The Forest of Hope The Distant Spring Pikmin 2 Perplexing Pool Wistful Wild
Caves	Subterranean Complex Frontier Cavern Snagret Hole Citadel of Spiders Cavern of Chaos Hole of Heroes
Challenge Mode stages	Abduction Den
2-Player Battle stages	None
Attacks	Replants and deflowers Pikmin

The Swooping Snitchbug is a creature found in both Pikmin games. They are legless, round, flying insects that have devolved wing-like antennae as a means of locomotion. They swoop down, as their name suggests, and grab their prey with their claws. After carrying them for a few seconds, they violently throw them towards the ground. This action would harm most prey, whereas Pikmin are simply replanted and reverted to their original leaf-receptacle state. These creatures will plummet to the ground if weighed down by a sufficient number of Pikmin, or with a single Purple Pikmin, rendering it susceptible to further attack. Ultra-bitter Spray may also be used to freeze it in mid-air, causing it to drop to the ground, which is arguably easier, but of course produces no corpse, and may be considered a waste of sprays. Occasionally in Pikmin 2, the caves such as the Subterranean Complex, a Swooping Snitchbug might accidentally throw a Pikmin into the abyss below, killing it. Should it throw a Yellow Pikmin that is holding a Bomb Rock, the bomb-rock will explode, killing the Yellow Pikmin, all Pikmin caught in the blast, and the Swooping Snitchbug. The position of the Swooping Snitchbug in the Enemy reel, which is otherwise alphabetical, indicates that the creature's name may originally have started with "flying". In Pikmin, it only appears in the Forest of Hope on day 15 and forward, and in the Distant Spring on day 4 and forward.

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Gallery

• Normal snitchbug-pikmin.jpg

  Artwork of a Swooping Snitchbug carrying Pikmin from Pikmin.

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  A Swooping Snitchbug at the Perplexing Pool in Pikmin 2.

• 173.png

  A Swooping Snitchbug in the Piklopedia of Pikmin 2.

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Super Smash Bros. Brawl Trophy Description

File:SSBBSnitchbug.jpg

The Swooping Snitchbug trophy from Super Smash Bros. Brawl.

A member of the scarpanid family. Although originally a ground dweller, its oversized antennae developed into wings, allowing it to fly around freely. The snitchbug doesn't eat Pikmin, but rather picks them up, carries them away, and firmly replants them in another location.

Glitch

There is a glitch in Pikmin: Once you've knocked the Swooping Snitchbug down to the ground, throw your Pikmin onto the creature and swarm it with all of the other Pikmin, which should kill it. Then, carry it back to the Onions by swarming the corpse. Later, you will notice the Pikmin you threw on the squirming Swooping Snitchbug are floating in the air, making the attacking motion as if they are attacking something invisible.

Trivia

• Using an Action Replay to access a model test menu in Pikmin 1, the Swooping Snitchbug's code name is "napkid".