Dwarf Bulborb

Dwarf Bulborbs are small and common enemies in the Pikmin games. In, they are known as Dwarf Red Bulborbs after various subspecies with different colorations were discovered. At the end of Pikmin it is known that they are not of the same species as the Spotty Bulborb, and in Pikmin 2, they are revealed to belong to the Breadbug family, not the Grub-dog family. Second only to Bulborbs in ubiquity as the common, standard enemies of the series, they are nonetheless the most numerically significant in aggregated count overall.

These enemies closely resemble Bulborbs in appearance, but are much smaller. Dwarf Bulborbs can be easily defeated by swarming them, or by throwing a single Pikmin directly on top of them. In Pikmin 2, if a leader throws a Purple Pikmin on it, it will remain attached until the creature's death finishes and its soul is released. In the first game, bothering one will make it release a loud squeal, waking up the nearest Spotty Bulborb. Dwarf Bulborbs do squeal in Pikmin 2, when a Pikmin is thrown onto its back, but the scream cannot wake up any adult Bulborbs. They bark when a leader or Pikmin is detected by them in the second game, as do the other dwarf bulborbs and Dwarf Bulbears. If this creature is petrified in the Piklopedia, when it breaks out of the stone it runs around eating any thrown Pikpik carrots at a much greater speed than normal.

Dwarf Bulborbs have a far deeper-pitched cry in Pikmin 3. They no longer shriek loudly as they did in Pikmin 2 when killed, but instead emit a deep, throaty sound much like the Red Bulborbs in Pikmin 3 do. This change seems questionable, as their smaller larynx should indeed produce a higher-pitched sound than that of a Red Bulborb, as seen with Bulborb Larva.

Behavior
Dwarf Bulborbs walk around idly, and when a leader or Pikmin draws near they will begin to chase after them until they are out of their territory range, in which case they will go back to their territory and resume walking around. A Dwarf Bulborb will attempt to eat Pikmin close enough to it, and will only grab one Pikmin with a single bite. It can also shake Pikmin off if it is being attacked. Upon death, it will release living Pikmin in its mouth that are yet to be eaten. Unique to Pikmin, Dwarf Bulborbs will scream for help when harassed, waking up Spotty Bulborbs, and, as seen in Challenge Mode only, Spotty Bulbears.

Pikmin
If you have a large group of Pikmin available, you can simply swarm it. Alternatively, aim and throw a bunch of Pikmin at its back. If a Pikmin lands directly on top of it, it will die instantly. In the first Pikmin game, these creatures may cause the crushing glitch to occur. In Pikmin 2, Purple Pikmin will home in on the Dwarf Bulborb, which can be pretty helpful for a quick kill. The Purple Pikmin will take a while to get off of the Dwarf Bulborb it landed on, but cannot be eaten while still clinging to the creature. If a Pikmin is caught by one, then it can easily be saved by throwing another Pikmin onto the creature's back. As the enemy dies, any captured Pikmin will be released from its mouth.

Leaders
Simply punching while avoiding its attacks is the most effective strategy for leaders.

Biology
By the end of the first game, it is revealed that the Dwarf Bulborb is actually a completely different species from the Spotty Bulborb, specifically, they are members of the breadbug family. As such, one could most likely assume that these creatures are masters of mimicry. Whether or not this is to avoid predation directly from grub-dogs, or from other species is unclear.

Like the Spotty Bulborb, they have a very mammalian appearance, sporting the soft, leathery skin and bulbous eyes of their pseudo-cousin. They also have the same spot patterns and "mandibles" as that of the Spotty Bulborb. However, these look-alikes have blue eyes with massive black pupils in Pikmin, while Spotty Bulborbs have purple eyes. In Pikmin 2, they have pure blue eyes that more closely resemble the purple eyes of the Red Bulborb. In Pikmin 3, their spots are relatively larger and are now indented, with the details of the eyes including large black pupils and light blue irises that even more closely resemble the eyes of the Pikmin 3 Bulborb. In Pikmin 3 and onward, their snouts are shorter than their grub-dog counterpart, as well as Albino Dwarf Bulborbs. Oddly enough, the Moldy Dwarf Bulborb and Dwarf Frosty Bulborb have the same shorter snout, despite being grub-dogs.

Behavior-wise, they seem to either stay close by Bulborbs, or move in packs. They also are active during the day.

Trivia

 * In Pikmin 2 exclusively, like the other Bulborb-mimicking breadbugs, if this creature is petrified in the game's Piklopedia, when it breaks out of the stone it runs around eating any thrown pikpik carrots at a much greater speed than normal.