Mitite

Mitite
Appears in	Pikmin 2
Scientific name	Mitivius infiltratus
Family	Unknown
Areas	Pikmin 2 Valley of Repose Awakening Wood Perplexing Pool Wistful Wild
Caves	Subterranean Complex Frontier Cavern Hole of Beasts White Flower Garden Bulblax Kingdom Snagret Hole Citadel of Spiders Glutton's Kitchen Shower Room Submerged Castle Cavern of Chaos Hole of Heroes Dream Den
Challenge Mode stages	None
2-Player Battle stages	None
Attacks	Causes Panic

Mitites (タマゴムシ) are small, pink creatures with white shells and five legs, found in Pikmin 2. They cannot directly harm Pikmin, but can inadvertently cause them to be killed by causing the Pikmin to panic into a hazard. When stumbled upon, they appear in a swarm of ten, scuttling around, sending both themselves and any Pikmin they pass near into a panic. Any egg, both on the ground and from a Honeywisp, has a chance of containing Mitites, which means they can be found anywhere eggs are. These creatures also burrow up from under the ground in specific locations, such as Sublevel 10 of the Hole of Heroes; and are released from the bodies of some Raging Long Legs once defeated. Any Mitites that are not killed eventually burrow underground.

Every creature in the swarm drops a pool of nectar when killed, which makes them valuable for building a flowered army. When trying to get Pokos, they are also somewhat efficient. The reason Mitites are found inside eggs is because they lay their eggs inside the eggs of other organisms, making them parasitoids. 

Notes

Olimar's Notes

"These parasitic insects feed on eggs. Upon reaching maturity, they excrete a special pheromone that attracts females of particular species, enticing these females to swallow the mitites whole. (Pikmin, however, seem to dislike the scent.) After entering the host female's body, the mitites lay their own eggs inside the host's eggs just prior to the host spawning."

Louie's Notes

"Flash-fry with garlic and red chilis in a hot pan, then sprinkle with grated gorgonzola. Some dinner guests may find the legs unappealing, so it's best to remove them before serving."

Nintendo Player's Guide

"When you break an egg expecting nectar, sometimes you'll be suprised by a flurry of Mitites. The creatures won't harm your Pikmin, but they will send them into a panic. Call your purple troops with your whistle, then stomp one of the Mitities to generate nectar and make the others scurry away."

Battle Strategy

The best way to kill Mitites is to throw Purple Pikmin onto them: any color will work, but Purple Pikmin send out shock waves that kill all of the surrounding Mitites; without purples, a direct hit is required to kill a single enemy. Also, Purples are the only Pikmin that do not seem to be afraid of mitites.

Another way is to grab every single Pikmin you have (Red Pikmin are preferred) and swarm them, this is easy because they sometimes get killed in 1 hit.

If a Purple Pikmin is thrown directly on top of a Mitite filled egg it will kill every one inside of it. This method is great for making Pikmin above ground and getting Nectar underground. (Note: Mitites are (sometimes) randomly placed in eggs, there is no way to tell where they are so this method could take a some time). As they send your Pikmin into a panic, be careful about opening eggs near enemies.

Gallery

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  A high quality screenshot of Mitites emerging from the ground.

Trivia

• Its scientific name, Mitivius infiltratus, loosely means 'Infiltrating Mites'. Mitivius sounds somewhat like mite, and infiltratus sounds similar to inflitrate. It also fits, as it inflitrates eggs to lay its own.
• The Mitite, unlike real-life Mites, is quintepedal rather than octopedal. Therefore, it is not a traditional arachnid, as is unique to all of Earth's lifeforms.
• Baby Gohmas from The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess resemble Mitites, and their designs may have been inspired by them.
• Mitites were originally going to be called Egg Grubs.
• Strangely, they cannot be petrified in the areas or cave (sublevel 6 of Bulblax Kingdom) they are found in, but can be petrified in the Piklopedia by pressing the Z button.
• For some reason, Purple Pikmin do not enter a panic when these creatures appear.