Breadbug

Breadbug
	File:P4 Breadbug.png
Appears in	Pikmin, Pikmin 2, Pikmin 4
Scientific name	Pansarus gluttonae; Pansarus gluttoniae (Pikmin Player's Guide)
Family	Breadbug
Areas	The Forest Navel
Caves	Glutton's Kitchen, Dream Den, Plunder Palace
Challenge Mode stages	The Impact Site, The Forest Navel, Snack Pit
Dandori Challenge stages	None
Dandori Battle stages	None
2-Player Battle stages	Dim Labyrinth
Attacks	Steal objects, bringing Pikmin with them, shaking (Pikmin only)

This article is about the creature. For the biological family, see Breadbug family.

The Breadbug (パンモドキ^?, lit.: "Pseudo Bread") is an enemy in Pikmin, Pikmin 2 and Pikmin 4. Breadbugs resemble bread rolls, and are the namesake of the Breadbug family. They cannot harm leaders or Pikmin directly, but can drag small objects (in Pikmin) or both small and rather large objects (in Pikmin 2) into their dwellings. If Pikmin are holding onto something when a Breadbug pulls it into its nest, they will die. In Pikmin 4, their segments now resemble cuts in bread more than fat rolls.

A boss variant of the Breadbug, the Giant Breadbug, appears in Pikmin 2 and Pikmin 4.

Stats

Weight	Max. carriers	Seeds	Value	Health	Regen.
3	6	3	N/A	5000	Unknown
3	6	4	× 3	1100	No
3	6	5^{[note 1]}	× 3	1000	No

Behavior

Each Breadbug owns a den from which it emerges at the beginning of the day or the sublevel. Normally it trots freely around the area, ignoring Pikmin and other creatures. Once it comes across something it can drag, it will begin heading straight for it. If it reaches such an object, it will grab it with its mouth and drag it back to its den. In Pikmin 2, Breadbugs heal themselves completely when they successfully retrieve an object. If Pikmin are already carrying an object, Breadbugs will ignore it.

Breadbugs have a large amount of tough blubber, making them immune to swarming. In Pikmin, Olimar can punch them to damage them, but they will attempt to shake him off if damaged too much. When they are defeated in Pikmin 2, their dens release all the treasures they captured. Corpses and pellets that Breadbugs successfullly pull into their dens will permanently disappear and cannot be retrieved.

In Pikmin 4, the Breadbug behaves a little different. It will still bumble around and take whatever it comes across, but it now lacks a den; instead, it will bringing object to predetermined dirt mounts to bury them, as well as leaving them in plant growth, the same growths the player can hide in. Because of this, it cannot heal itself nor kill Pikmin. It has also has a smaller limit on what it can take. If no hiding spots are available, it will still grab the object, but it will wander aimlessly with them. It has strength of 10. If it's pulling something with Pikmin on it, it will shake the object to get the Pikmin off; it cannot do this if it is being dragged. If both forces equal 10, the object will not move until the Breadbug shakes off some Pikmin. It will still hit its head when being carried into the tractor beam of the S.S. Beagle, but it will not flip over.

It can still be hit directly with a Pikmin; doing so will squish the creature and cause it to run around in a panic, yelping. Once done running, it will catch its breath and return to normal. If hit by a Purple Pikmin's shockwave, it will behave the same way, but instead of being squished, it will roll backwards.

Carrying power

Breadbugs in Pikmin will only drag objects with a weight of 1, all of which require two Pikmin to overpower. In Pikmin 2, objects dragged by Breadbugs vary in how much strength is needed to overpower them, depending on the weight of the object and its maximum carriers. The exact formula is unknown and it's possible that one does not exist, as the game may use a lookup table instead. However, a formula that works in every case is:

So in other words: the object's weight, plus one-half of the carrying support slots, plus 1, rounded down equals the amount of Pikmin needed to overpower a Breadbug.

Breadbugs will ignore objects with a weight heavier than 10, as well as all treasures in the Explorer's Friend Series. They are also unable to drag very small or flat treasures such as the Science Project or Luck Wafer. Giant Breadbugs are no stronger than regular ones and all the same rules apply. The following table lists all possible combinations of weights and max carriers with their respective amounts needed to overpower. Most of these results cannot be observed without hacking.

Locations

Pikmin

Only one is present in Story Mode, in The Forest Navel. It wanders around the area so it doesn't have a set location, but its nest is found near the Gravity Jumper so it can be spotted there often, such as when carrying back objects or at the start of the day.

It is also present in Challenge Mode, being in both The Impact Site and The Forest Navel.

Pikmin 2

In Story Mode, Breadbugs can be found in sublevels 2, 3, 4, and 6 of the Glutton's Kitchen, and sublevel 11 of the Dream Den.

They can be found in Challenge Mode, in the Snack Pit stage. They can also be found in 2-Player Battle, in the Dim Labyrinth stage.

Pikmin 4

Breadbugs are only present in the Plunder Palace cave, on sublevels 1 and 4.

Strategy

Pikmin

The easiest way to kill a Breadbug is to wait until it takes hold of an object, then swarm Pikmin onto that object and return it to any Onion or the Ship's pod. The Onion or the Ship receives the object and the Breadbug takes damage by banging its head on the Onion/Ship. This method usually has to be done twice, though the first hit is so strong, it may just take one Pikmin thrown on its back to finish it off. So to better multitask, the best strategy would be to throw Pikmin on top of it once or twice and then have it drag an object and use Pikmin to carry it the opposite way. The Pikmin should deliver the object, and more often than not, get the now-dead Breadbug and deliver it as well.

It is also possible to defeat a Breadbug by throwing Pikmin on top of it, but this is slow as there is a period of immunity after each successful throw. Luckily, after being hit with a Pikmin, and finishing its pain animation, it will look left and right for some brief seconds, and during this time, it is vulnerable. By carefully timing, or by throwing a small barrage of Pikmin during this time, it is possible to hit the Breadbug again without having to move the cursor or the leader. The members of this species encountered in Pikmin move more swiftly than those in Pikmin 2, making them even more difficult to kill via this method. Using Purple Pikmin makes this method faster since their heavy weight will hurt the Breadbug, and they also try to home in as they land. With good enough timing, whistling Pikmin off of a tug of war with a Breadbug will stun the creature for a brief moment, possibly allowing an attack.

Another quick way to kill it in Pikmin 2 is to use an ultra-bitter spray to petrify it, which will make it vulnerable to swarming.

Leaders

Strangely, Olimar can damage the Breadbug by punching it in Pikmin even though the Pikmin cannot. In Pikmin 2, neither Olimar nor Louie are capable of punching the Breadbug. However, with its high amount of HP due to the unorthodox damaging methods normally used, attacking with Olimar is a severe waste of time. Interestingly, the Breadbug can attempt to shake off Olimar when harassed.

^ This enemy cannot be delivered to Onions in-game. This information is obtained from the Piklopedia.

Notes

Olimar's voyage log

“This pesky scavenger is truly annoying. It attempts to steal the spoils that the Pikmin earn in battle. If the Pikmin chase it too far, they can be dragged into its lair along with their food. It may look weak, but its appearance is deceiving.”

Reel notes

“This creature's thick hide protects it from most attackers.”

Olimar's notes

“The adult breadbug competes for many of the same food sources as Pikmin, but its thick-skinned hide allows it to withstand most Pikmin group attacks. However, some researchers claim to have observed breadbugs being overwhelmed by massive numbers of Pikmin and reduced to food.”

Louie's notes

“Breadbugs are hearty and nutritious but also bland and unimaginative. They may be palatable in a pinch, but they hold no true culinary promise.”

Pikmin Nintendo Player's Guide

“The adult breadbug competes for many of the same food sources as Pikmin, but its thick-skinned hide allows it to withstand most Pikmin group attacks. However, some researchers claim to have observed the breadbug being overwhelmed by massive numbers of Pikmin and then reduced to food.”

“The breadbug is a scavenger and will drag away lightweight Pikmin food. Don't bother attacking the breadbug. Instead, send Pikmin to go after the piece of food that the breadbug is dragging. With enough Pikmin, your team will be able to overpower the breadbug and drag it back to an onion. When the onion beams up the bug, the pest will take major damage.”

Pikmin Nintendo Power Booklet description

“The breadbug is a scavenger and competes with Pikmin for food. Its thick hide protects it from most Pikmin assaults, but it prefers not to feed on live food sources.”

Pikmin 2 Nintendo Player's Guide

“Breadbugs steal treasures and the bodies of downed baddies. If a Breadbug takes a prize into its hole, you'll have to defeat it to make the treasure resurface. You can damage Breadbugs by stomping them or by pulling them towards your ship and having the ship's tractor beam do the work.”

Dalmo's notes

“It looks like your breakfast table's longtime staple: a loaf of bread with perfect color and buttery shine. Just from looking at it, I swear the aroma of baking wafts past my nose. But you've never seen your bread loafing about like this. If you observe them for a while, you might catch them dragging things around with their mouths. It's heart-meltingly adorable!”

Olimar's notes (Pikmin 4)

“The adult Breadbug competes for many of the same food sources as Pikmin, but its thick-skinned hide allows it to withstand most Pikmin group attacks. However, some researchers claim to have observed Breadbugs being overwhelmed by massive numbers of Pikmin and reduced to food.”

Louie's notes (Pikmin 4)

“Although cooking this colossal beast yields a mountain of meat, every ounce of it is flavorless. Only suitable for intergalactic all-you-can-eat buffets.”

Pikmin Garden

Text

“肉厚の表皮を持ち、ロールパンのような姿をしている。性格は穏やかで、餌となる食べ物を見つけると巣や草むらに運んだり、土に埋めるなどして貯め込む性質がある。

特徴その1 雑食性

ペレットのみならず、生物の死骸なども好んで食べる。

特徴その2 引っ張り合い

ピクミンと食性が同じことから、獲物をうばい合うことも多い。

(Image text: 直接的な危害を加えないせいか、ピクミンに攻撃されることはない)

特徴その3 弾力のある表皮

背中に硬いものや重いものがぶつかると、衝撃が体内にまで伝わりひっくり返ってしまう。”

Translation

“It has a thick epidermis and looks like a bread roll. When it finds food, it carries it to its nest or grassy area and buries it in the soil to store it.

Feature #1: Omnivorous

It likes to eat not only pellets but also the carcasses of creatures.

Feature #2: Pulling against each other

Because it shares the same feeding habits with Pikmin, they often compete with each other for food.

(Image text: "Perhaps because it does not directly harm Pikmin, it is not attacked by them")

Feature #3: Elastic epidermis

When a hard or heavy object strikes their back, the impact is transmitted to their body, causing them to turn over.”

Weight	1	1	1	1	2	3	3	3	4	5	5	6	6	7	7	8	8	10	10	10	10
Max carriers	1	2	5	8	4	5	6	8	8	8	10	10	12	14	15	15	16	15	18	20	25
Strength needed	2	2	4	5	4	5	5	6	7	7	8	9	10	11	12	12	13	12	15	16	18

In Pikmin 4 the breadbug’s carrying power is simplified. The Breadbug always has a carrying strength of 10. Once the pikmins' total carrying strength exceeds 10 the breadbug will be dragged across the floor. Dandori Battle rules apply, and the Breadbug can shake Pikmin off an object if the Breadbug has the advantage or there is a tie. The Giant Breadbug has a carry power of 30.

Technical information

Creature

Pikmin technical information (?)
Internal name	`collec`
HP	5000

Pikmin 2 technical information (?)
Internal name			`panmodoki`
Global properties (List)
ID	Japanese comment	Property	Value
s000	friction(not used)	Friction	0.5
s001	wallReflection	Unknown (wall bounce speed multiplier?)	0.5
s002	faceDirAdjust	Unknown	0.25
s003	accel	Acceleration	0.1
s004	bounceFactor	Unknown (bounce when it hits the ground?)	0.3
fp00	ライフ	HP	1100
fp01	マップとの当り	Unknown (related to slopes)	20
fp02	ダメージスケールXZ	Horizontal damage scale	0.5
fp03	ダメージスケールY	Vertical damage scale	0.5
fp04	ダメージフレーム	Damage scale duration	0.35
fp05	質量	Unknown (weight?)	0.1
fp06	速度	Move speed	60
fp08	回転速度率	Rotation acceleration	0.1
fp09	テリトリー	Territory radius	200
fp10	ホーム範囲	"Home" radius	15
fp11	プライベート距離	"Private" radius	70
fp12	視界距離	Sight radius	300
fp13	視界角度	FOV	90
fp14	探索距離	Unknown (exploration radius?)	500
fp15	探索角度	Unknown (exploration angle?)	120
fp16	振り払い率	Successful shake rate	1
fp17	振り払い力	Shake knockback	200
fp18	振り払いダメージ	Shake damage	1
fp19	振り払い範囲	Shake range	30
fp20	攻撃可能範囲	Unknown (shock attack max range?)	80
fp21	攻撃可能角度	Unknown (shock attack max angle?)	50
fp22	攻撃ヒット範囲	Unknown (attack hit range?)	80
fp23	攻撃ヒット角度	Unknown (attack hit angle?)	50
fp24	攻撃力	Attack damage	10
fp25	視界高	Unknown (height visibility?)	50
fp26	探索高	Unknown (exploration height?)	50
fp27	ライフの高さ	HP wheel height	45
fp28	回転最大速度	Rotation speed	3
fp29	警戒時間	Unknown (warning time?)	15
fp30	警戒ライフ	Unknown	30
fp31	ライフ回復率	Regeneration rate	0
fp32	LOD半径	Off-camera radius	20
fp33	マップとのあたりポリゴンの選定	Collision processing radius	20
fp34	ピクミンとのあたり	Pikmin damage radius	20
fp35	石化時間	Petrification duration	1
fp36	ヒップドロップダメージ	Purple Pikmin drop damage	50
fp37	地震気絶確立	Purple Pikmin stun chance	0 (0%)
fp38	地震気絶時間	Purple Pikmin stun time	0
ip01	振り払い打撃Ａ	Shake mode 1 – hit count	0
ip02	振り払い張付１	Shake mode 1 – Pikmin requirement	1
ip03	振り払い打撃Ｂ	Shake mode 2 – hit count	12
ip04	振り払い張付２	Shake mode 2 – Pikmin requirement	10
ip05	振り払い打撃Ｃ	Shake mode 3 – hit count	17
ip06	振り払い張付３	Shake mode 3 – Pikmin requirement	20
ip07	振り払い打撃Ｄ	Shake mode 4 – hit count	22
Specific properties
ID	Japanese comment	Property	Value
fp00	巣スケール	Scale of the nest's model	1
fp16	歩きモーションスピード	Walk animation speed)	2
fp02	急回転速度率	Rotation speed while carrying	0.2
fp05	急回転速度最大	Unknown (sudden rotation speed max?)	5
fp03	戻り速度	Speed while carrying objects)	35
fp04	コンテナダメージ	Damage taken when carried item is collected	1000
fp06	プレスダメージ	Damage taken when a Pikmin is thrown	200
fp14	待機時間	Time until it moves after taking damage	0
fp15	潜伏時間	Time until leaving nest	150
fp01	ターゲットスロット数境界	Cannot collect objects with this weight value or above	11

Nest

Pikmin technical information (?)
Internal name	`hollec`
HP	N/A

Pikmin 2 technical information (?)
Internal name			`panhouse`
Global properties (List)
ID	Japanese comment	Property	Value
s000	friction(not used)	Friction	0.5
s001	wallReflection	Unknown (wall bounce speed multiplier?)	0.5
s002	faceDirAdjust	Unknown	0.25
s003	accel	Acceleration	0.1
s004	bounceFactor	Unknown (bounce when it hits the ground?)	0.3
fp00	ライフ	HP	1100
fp01	マップとの当り	Unknown (related to slopes)	40
fp02	ダメージスケールXZ	Horizontal damage scale	0.5
fp03	ダメージスケールY	Vertical damage scale	0.5
fp04	ダメージフレーム	Damage scale duration	0.35
fp05	質量	Unknown (weight?)	0.1
fp06	速度	Move speed	40
fp08	回転速度率	Rotation acceleration	0.1
fp09	テリトリー	Territory radius	200
fp10	ホーム範囲	"Home" radius	30
fp11	プライベート距離	"Private" radius	70
fp12	視界距離	Sight radius	500
fp13	視界角度	FOV	90
fp14	探索距離	Unknown (exploration radius?)	500
fp15	探索角度	Unknown (exploration angle?)	120
fp16	振り払い率	Successful shake rate	1
fp17	振り払い力	Shake knockback	200
fp18	振り払いダメージ	Shake damage	0
fp19	振り払い範囲	Shake range	30
fp20	攻撃可能範囲	Unknown (shock attack max range?)	80
fp21	攻撃可能角度	Unknown (shock attack max angle?)	50
fp22	攻撃ヒット範囲	Unknown (attack hit range?)	80
fp23	攻撃ヒット角度	Unknown (attack hit angle?)	50
fp24	攻撃力	Attack damage	10
fp25	視界高	Unknown (height visibility?)	50
fp26	探索高	Unknown (exploration height?)	50
fp27	ライフの高さ	HP wheel height	45
fp28	回転最大速度	Rotation speed	8
fp29	警戒時間	Unknown (warning time?)	15
fp30	警戒ライフ	Unknown	30
fp31	ライフ回復率	Regeneration rate	0.0001
fp32	LOD半径	Off-camera radius	50
fp33	マップとのあたりポリゴンの選定	Collision processing radius	40
fp34	ピクミンとのあたり	Pikmin damage radius	40
fp35	石化時間	Petrification duration	1
fp36	ヒップドロップダメージ	Purple Pikmin drop damage	N/A
fp37	地震気絶確立	Purple Pikmin stun chance	N/A
fp38	地震気絶時間	Purple Pikmin stun time	N/A
ip01	振り払い打撃Ａ	Shake mode 1 – hit count	6
ip02	振り払い張付１	Shake mode 1 – Pikmin requirement	5
ip03	振り払い打撃Ｂ	Shake mode 2 – hit count	12
ip04	振り払い張付２	Shake mode 2 – Pikmin requirement	10
ip05	振り払い打撃Ｃ	Shake mode 3 – hit count	17
ip06	振り払い張付３	Shake mode 3 – Pikmin requirement	20
ip07	振り払い打撃Ｄ	Shake mode 4 – hit count	22
Specific properties
None

Other information

Technical name in The Official Nintendo Player's Guide: Vanilla Breadbug
Size: Body length: 37mm, as per the e-card
Pikmin 2 Piklopedia number: #57
Pikmin 4 Piklopedia number: #60

Naming

See more: Breadbug family#Naming.

Common name: Breadbug. The name mostly comes from it physically resembling a loaf of bread, and is likely a pun on real-world bed bugs.
Japanese nickname: パンモドキ^?, lit.: "Pseudo Bread".
Japanese name: マキパンモドキ^?, lit.: "Pseudo Bread Roll".
Scientific name: Pansarus gluttonae. "Pansarus" may come from "pan", spanish for "bread", referring to its physical shape. Gluttonae comes from "glutton", referring to its scavenging and food-hoarding behavior. The specific epithet is spelled "gluttoniae" in the Pikmin Nintendo Player's Guide.
Internal names: The internal name in Pikmin, collec, is likely short for "collect" or "collector". In Pikmin 2, it's just the same as the Japanese nickname, panmodoki. The nest the creature hides in has its own internal name. In Pikmin, it is hollec, perhaps a pun between "hole" and the enemy's internal name, while in Pikmin 2, it's a combination of パン^? (lit.: "bread") and "house" – panhouse.
Prerelease: None.

Names in other languages

The following article or section needs help from someone who can translate Korean text.

Language	Name	Meaning	Notes
Japanese	パンモドキ^? Pan Modoki	Pseudo Bread
Dutch	Broodrakker	Bread rascal
French	Scaratax	From scara (beetle) and taxeur (taxman, which refers to the Breadbug's stealing capacities)	The name comes from "scarabée" (beetle)
German	Diebischer Saprophag	Thieving Saprophage
Italian	Saprofago (Pikmin, Pikmin 2 Switch and Pikmin 4) Saprofago ladro (Pikmin 2 GC/Wii)	Scavenger (Pikmin, Pikmin 2 Switch and Pikmin 4) Thief Scavenger (Pikmin 2 GC/Wii)
Korean	빵닮은꼴 Ppang-Dalmeunkkol	Bread Look-alike
Portuguese	Bicho-pão	Bread bug
Spanish	Chinche Carroñero (Pikmin) Chinche carroñera (Pikmin 2 and Pikmin 4)	Scavenger Bug

Gallery

Pikmin

Artwork of the Breadbug.
A Breadbug in the enemy reel.
A Breadbug in an early version of Pikmin.
Screenshot of a Breadbug in Pikmin from the Nintendo Power Promotional Booklet.
Drawings of the Breadbug from the Pikmin Official Player's Guide.
A Breadbug pulling a blue pellet back to its nest.
A Breadbug battling some Pikmin for a pellet.
A Breadbug on its back due to it flipping over while holding onto a pellet an Onion digested.
The corpse of a Breadbug.

Pikmin 2

A Breadbug in the Piklopedia.
A Breadbug dragging a Female Sheargrub corpse and a Yellow Pikmin into its nest.
A Breadbug's nest.
The Piklopedia icon of the Breadbug in the Nintendo Switch version of Pikmin 2.
A Breadbug that has been flipped over.
The corpse of a Breadbug.

Pikmin 4

A Breadbug in promotional material.
The Piklopedia icon of the Breadbug.
A Breadbug in the Piklopedia.
A Breadbug upon noticing something it can steal and bury.

Other

The Breadbug's e-card, #60 (16^th yellow card).
An Agatsuma Breadbug figurine.

Trivia

The Breadbug is one of few enemies to have a figurine modeled after them.
Its nest is very similar in appearance to the Hermit Crawmad's hole in Pikmin 2.
Breadbugs seem to have cannibalistic tendencies: in Pikmin 2, they will carry dead Breadbugs into their nests and eat them.
In Pikmin, if a Breadbug gets stuck, it will burrow into the ground after about 8 seconds and respawn out of its hole.^[1]
Breadbugs exhibit behavior typical of real world ferrets, which are known to take random items and drag them into burrows or other enclosed areas.
A roughly exact copy of the Breadbug in Pikmin 2 exists unused inside Pikmin 3's files.
The Breadbug's enemy mix in Pikmin 4 references the Giant Breadbug's theme from Pikmin 2. A synthesizer that plays a melody similar to that of the baritone saxophone is added, and the same drum machine samples are also reused.

References

^ YouTube video demonstrating how Breadbugs respawn when they get stuck.

[1] This enemy cannot be delivered to Onions in-game. This information is obtained from the Piklopedia.

[2] YouTube video demonstrating how Breadbugs respawn when they get stuck.

[note 1]

[1]

Breadbug

Contents

Stats