Anode Beetle

Anode Beetles are small black beetles with four yellow spots on their wing casings found in caves throughout  and. This creature is blissfully unaware of Pikmin, and if found alone, are harmless; but if there is a partner nearby, an electrical barrier can be produced between the two, subjecting any nearby Pikmin to electrocution. As such, they are commonly found in groups of 2 or more.

Swarming will not harm it, as it has a protective shell, similar to the Flint Beetles. To damage it, one must throw a Pikmin on top of it to flip it over, then proceed to swarm it. Purple Pikmin can cause them to flip over even if not directly hit.

Caves

 * Sublevel 6 of the Subterranean Complex
 * Sublevel 4 of the Frontier Cavern
 * Sublevel 4 of the Bulblax Kingdom
 * Sublevel 3 of the Citadel of Spiders
 * Sublevel 3 and 6 of Glutton's Kitchen
 * Sublevel 3 of the Submerged Castle
 * Sublevel 6 of the Cavern of Chaos
 * Sublevel 2 of the Hole of Heroes
 * Sublevel 4 of the Dream Den

Challenge Mode

 * Sublevel 1 of the Three Color Training
 * Sublevel 1 of the Bully Den

2-Player Battle

 * Hostile Territory

Caves

 * Sublevel 1 of the Sightless Passage

Dandori

 * Hotshock Canyon

Behavior
Anode Beetles are almost always found in groups. This is because in order to pose any threat as enemies, they must generate electricity between each other. This process takes a few seconds because the two creatures must first align themselves such that their rear ends are facing each other, and then the discharge procedure itself takes a few seconds. Once it appears, the electric arc between two beetles will kill any non-Yellow Pikmin it touches. If an Anode Beetle is all alone, or is unable to link with a partner, it will still occasionally produce small jolts of electricity from beneath its wings, but these are harmless. If two beetles are connected with an arc of electricity, and one of them gets flipped over or becomes petrified, the connection will disappear and the other beetle will resume idling.

Anode Beetles are defensive creatures; they cannot be damaged while standing upright. They can, however, be flipped over is a Pikmin is thrown directly onto one's back, or if a Purple Pikmin is thrown such that the shock wave forces one to flip over. Once flipped, an Anode Beetle can be damaged with ease and can be defeated relatively quickly.

In, the previously harmless electrical flickering it produces when attempting to arc electricity to another Anode Beetle is now an attack, and shocks anything without electrical immunity that touches its shell.

Pikmin 2
Since this enemy can kill any type of Pikmin that is not immune to electricity, it is advised to use Yellows. Simply throw a Yellow Pikmin onto it, and proceed to swarm it with any Pikmin you have. A group of 20 or more Yellows can kill it in one cycle. Alternatively, you can use other Pikmin types, but with care, as electrocution is highly possible. As an upside, Purple Pikmin can flip the beetles even if not directly thrown on top of them. Bulbmin are also useful in caves such as the Submerged Castle.

Note that, just like Flint Beetles, the Anode Beetle is not harmed by the rocks of Lithopods. It is not harmed by bomb-rocks, Gatling Groinks, or the Waterwraith, either.

Pikmin 4
While they can be defeated in the same ways, it should be noted that Anode Beetle's rarity, the reduced lethality of electricity since, and the likelihood of obtaining the Anti-Electrifier Gear by the point the enemies are even encountered might as well make them completely harmless.

If you do somehow manage to get you or any of your squad shocked, the Anode Beetles are never found with anything besides more of themselves, so there isn't any danger of stunned Pikmin being eaten or blown up by neighboring creatures like what was seen in Pikmin 2 caves, so just mash B to get up and whistle any stunned troops, you've got a solid 5 seconds to do it.

Glitch
If the player hits an Anode Beetle on the same frame it would start rotating to face a partner, the Beetle will get up instantly. Distracted players could end up losing Pikmin to an enemy that would otherwise be disabled.