Scarpanid family

The scarpanid family consists of two airborne species which are defined by their habit of abducting their prey. They swoop down from the sky to pick up either up to two Pikmin at once or a single leader, depending on species and game.

Members

Bumbling Snitchbug

Main article: Bumbling Snitchbug.

The Bumbling Snitchbug is a creature discovered by Captain Olimar during his second visit to PNF-404. It closely resembles the Swooping Snitchbug in appearance and behavior, though possesses more body mass. Instead of picking up Pikmin, it will pick up the leaders, and eventually hurl them into the ground; however, they will not be "planted". Captured leaders may struggle to free themselves by rotating the Analogue Stick or have a second leader throw Pikmin to combat the enemy. Weighing the Bug down will cause it to crash into the ground, where it is easily overwhelmed.

Swooping Snitchbug

Main article: Swooping Snitchbug.

The Swooping Snitchbug is a creature present in all three Pikmin games. They are legless, round, flying insects that have evolved wing-like antennae as a means of locomotion. They attack by swooping down and grabbing prey, though this species only grabs the Pikmin, not the leaders. After carrying the prey for a few seconds, they violently throw it toward the ground, which forces the Pikmin to be replanted and revert to its leaf stage. Snitchbugs can be weighed down by throwing many Pikmin (or at least one Purple Pikmin) onto their body, causing them to crash to the ground and making them susceptible to attack. In Pikmin 3, throwing a Rock Pikmin at the creature will cause it to fall to the ground, and they replace the role of Bumbling Snitchbugs by gaining the ability to grab leaders as well as Pikmin.

Coppeller

Main article: Coppeller.

The Coppeler is a creature introduced in Hey! Pikmin . They are small, airborne, quadrupedal insectoids that, like their reletives the snitchbugs, can carry pikmin as well as other object. They will swoop onto the screen in groups carrying seeds, pikmin and treasure, at which point the player will be able to take them out by throwing a single pikmin at them. If allowed to escape, whatever they are carrying will be permanently lost. A more dangerous spiny version of this creature can be found in later levels.

Spiny Coppeller

Main article: Spiny Coppeller.

The Spiny Coppeller is a specially adapted reletive of the Coppeller introduced in Hey! Pikmin . They are slightly larger than normal Coppelers, and are completley unkillable as any pikmin thrown at them will be impailed on their spiky armor. They do not carry anything and rarely move, instead simply hovering in place and blocking the player. They are one of the only enemies in any pikmin game that can not be killed.

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Naming

Many members of this family have the word "Snitchbug" in their name, which is a combination of "snitch" and "bug"; to "snitch" means "to catch", in this context. "Coppeler" is likley a combination of "Copter" and "Proppeler", in reference to the creatures helecopter-like wings. Their scientific names use the genus name Scarpanida, which has no meaning, but reflects the family name.