Orange Bulborb

The Orange Bulborb is an enemy that first debuted in, further appearing in  and. Compared to normal Bulborbs, they have brown skin, piercing yellow, bloodshot eyes, and an orange backside with brown spots.

While it behaves similarly to most Bulborb species, Orange Bulborbs are unique in their extreme wariness: While other Bulborbs won't wake up unless Pikmin or a Leader are practically touching or directly attacking them, Orange Bulborbs will wake up and begin attacking much sooner (their detection range is approximately the same as the cursor's reach in the GameCube games), making an ambush next to impossible, even when attacking from behind. They also have a noticeably higher amount of health; all of these factors make them rather formidable opponents. They are rather common, appearing in many caverns throughout the game such as the Bulblax Kingdom, or on land in the Wistful Wild, by the Dream Den. Dwarf Orange Bulborbs, which are not actually an Orange Bulborb's young, are oftentimes found near their territory, likely for protection.

In Pikmin 3, the creature is much rarer, appearing only 4 times throughout the main story. Here, they have physical differences such as their head and face being more brownish. Their pupils have gained a more triangular shape as well. In some Mission Mode stages, they can be found near Clovers, but regardless, they will still be able to see prey hiding under any plant.

Behavior
Orange Bulborbs are, like the Bulborb, nocturnal creatures and sleep in mainly underground areas, but can still be found above ground. In the main series of games, this exposes them to being swarmed by Pikmin. However, due to their high-strung nature, they will wake up more often as they can sense both Pikmin and Leaders if too close. They will also chase the Pikmin or Leader for a longer distance compared to a regular Bulborb.

Once awoken, the Orange Bulborb becomes very aggressive and will rush towards any nearby Pikmin or Leader to try and eat them. If it manages to reach any Pikmin, it will stand up to eat them - otherwise it will attempt to attack again after tripping. If there are multiple Pikmin attacking the creature all at once, it will shake itself to throw Pikmin off of itself and try to eat more Pikmin. If the Grub-Dogs eyestalks are attacked, it will panic and stop doing whatever they were doing to shake off the attackers.

If there are no more Pikmin or Leaders near the Orange Bulborb, it will look around and then fall back asleep.

Biology
Orange Bulborbs are quite similar in design to the regular Bulborb, which is a creature with one of the most diverse physiology in the Pikmin series. They possess traits similar to those of amphibians, reptiles, and mammals. Orange Bulborbs have large bulbous eyes set in stalks, as opposed to the compound eyes of most insects. The eyes of the creature are described by Olimar as being yellow in color as well as being bloodshot, giving it it’s more high-strung nature

Olimar mentions Bulborbs having a set of mandibles, which can also be seen in the Orange Bulborb. Mandibles are a pair of appendages near an insect's mouth, used for grinding and chewing food. The so-called mandibles Olimar mentions in his notes look nothing like normal mandibles and are instead most likely saber-teeth, used for breaking exoskeletons of prey insects and digging through the soil for roots.

No true Dwarf Orange Bulborbs are known to exist. While Orange Bulborbs very commonly sleep near breadbug mimics that look similar to them, this could simply be the Orange Bulborb mistaking the breadbug mimic as its own young. Given Olimar's notes on the Albino Dwarf Bulborb suggest that it is "impossible to tell which subspecies" a particular Albino Dwarf Bulborb might mature into until the second molt, it is likely that true Dwarf Orange Bulborbs do exist, but simply have not been seen.

Strategy
If a large group of Purple Pikmin is available, simply rain them down on the Orange Bulborb. Even with the Bulborb's head start, the purples will have a good chance of stunning it with serious damage, and hopefully defeating it without losses.

Orange Bulborbs are tricky without purples. It's never wise to attack a large grub-dog from the front since they'll almost surely bite back, and since the Orange Bulborb will wake up before it can be attacked clearly, it will be highly troublesome. If it is approached from the back, quickly run and rain Pikmin on it. It can then be defeated like any other Bulborb. If there is no choice but to approach it from the front, dismiss the Pikmin and use a leader to wake it up. Let the Bulborb chase them until it runs out of its range. When it goes back to sleep, attack it in the back. Orange Bulborbs also have a slight delay in between its "yawning" sequence and waking up again, so use this opportunity to pummel it with Pikmin.

In Pikmin 3, the Orange Bulborb retains all of its traits from Pikmin 2, but due to the lack of Purple Pikmin in Story Mode and the fact that the hiding strategy with Clovers does not work, it can be much tougher to defeat. However, there are other strategies players can use now to take it down. Firstly, the front of the Bulborb is much more vulnerable due to the eyeballs of the Orange Bulborb being a weak point. If one is hit, it will cause the Bulborb to recoil (and spit out any Pikmin that it has eaten). Secondly, all Pikmin can hold bomb rocks, allowing them to be used to defeat the Orange Bulborb quicker. Finally, instead of using Purple Pikmin, Rock Pikmin can be used instead to pummel the Bulborb.

The only Orange Bulborb that is required to take down is the one in the Tropical Wilds; the group of 3 near the Portable Sunset in the Twilight River can be left alone by lifting the nearby bamboo gate. The one in the Tropical Wilds is facing away from the gate, so Bomb Rocks are recommended. Alternatively, the Bulborb can be awoken, and if the player runs away fast enough, it will go back to sleep facing the wall, allowing for an easier attack.

Trivia

 * Strangely, despite being established as extremely light sleepers, Orange Bulborbs will not wake up if a Spotty Bulbear bumps against them in . This is particularly odd as all other grub-dogs will wake up under the same circumstance. This discrepancy can primarily be seen in sublevel 9 of the Hole of Heroes, which contains every adult grub-dog in the game.
 * An Orange Bulborb and Spotty Bulbear also coexist on sublevel 2 of the Emperor's Realm, allowing this behavior to be witnessed.
 * Despite never appearing in any night expeditions in, Orange Bulborbs can be viewed at night in the Piklopedia. They also deal a unique amount of damage to the Tricknoll, destroying it in only 7 hits.
 * This scenario is especially unique, because the Orange Bulborbs in question are always awake. They are always asleep in all of the Caves they appear in, so the Piklopedia entry is the only place to see a permanently awake Orange Bulborb.