Shearflea

Shearflea
Appears in	Pikmin 4
Scientific name	Suprictis rubro
Family	Springjab
Areas	Hero's Hideaway
Caves	Below-Grade Discotheque, Subterranean Swarm
Dandori Challenge stages	Rockaway Cellars, Trial of the Sage Leaf
Dandori Battle stages	Dandori Castle
Attacks	Impale and eat Pikmin

The Shearflea (ノミンコ^?, lit.: "Tiny Flea") is an enemy found in Pikmin 4. Shearfleas are based on and named after fleas, which they resemble closely due to their reddish coloration and overall design. Even though they have the prefix 'Shear-' in their name, they are actually not a part of the Mandiblard family like other creatures with the same name prefix, and are in a new family; the Springjab family.

Stats

Weight	Max. carriers	Seeds	Value	Health
1	1	2	× 1	45

Behavior

Shearfleas idly wander around their territory area until they notice the player and their Pikmin, where they will then start to jump towards and at them. If a Shearflea grabs a Pikmin, they do not instantly eat it like most enemies, they attempt to jump away from the player and then eat them. This gives the player a little bit of time to save their captured Pikmin by killing the Shearflea. Shearfleas can also attach themselves to the player and Oatchi. They will then proceed to attack them while also slowing them down until they have been shook off. There can be a max of 3 Shearfleas on the player, and a max of 5 on Oatchi. They can destroy nectar eggs if Oatchi shakes them in a certain angle.

Appearance

Shearfleas are small red, grub-like creatures that resemble real life fleas. They have four legs and a spike-like mouth that it uses to attack and eat. Sheafleas also have two green eyes on either side of their head. Their overall design, though different, has been influenced by real life fleas. Notably, they somewhat resemble members of the mandiblard family, but their legs and proboscis, as opposed to fully functional jaws, sets them apart.

Locations

Strategy

The following article or section contains guides.
The strategies shown are just suggestions.

Shearfleas are quite simple to deal with as they die with a single Pikmin, excluding Winged Pikmin, landing directly on them. The real issue appears when there is a large number of them as they can quickly eat Pikmin or even attach themselves to both the player and Oatchi. A solution to this is to never stop moving while you fight them as they tend to jump towards your previous position.

Additionally, it should also be noted that Rock Pikmin are immune to being eaten by Shearfleas. Similar to the Joustmite, Rock Pikmin are simply pushed away whenever attacked, allowing them to safely eliminate Shearfleas without any risk of them being eaten in the process.

Notes

Dalmo's Notes

“If you find any of these busy little bouncers happily hopping about, try jumping in with them. If you do, they may just come to you for cuddles. They're such sweet little lovebugs!”

Olimar's Notes

“The sensory hairs growing on this creature's orange body segments can detect body temperatures, movement, and carbon-dioxide levels. It clings to its prey with its claylike front legs and sucks their blood through its pointed proboscis.

Research has found that the Shearflea can store energy created while contracting its bellows-like body in the elastic proteins located at the roots of its hinds, allowing it to repeatedly jump very high.

Its reproductive rates are rather explosive. A small group of egg-laying females can boom into a population of over a hundred in a month's time.”

Louie's Notes

“Salty, sour, and sometimes sweet. The flavor changes depending on which living creature it's fed from recently.”

Other information

Pikmin 4 Piklopedia number: #31

Naming

See more: Springjab family#Naming.

Common name: Shearflea. Combination of "Sheargrub" and "flea". The reason for it using "shear" is that mandiblards and the Shearflea share the descriptor, tiny, in their Japanese common names.
Japanese nickname: ノミンコ^?, lit.: "Tiny Flea". The name is a combination of 蚤, which means "flea", and 子.
Japanese name: ベニトビサシ^?, lit.: "Red Leaping Piercer". "ベニ" refers to its color, "飛び" refers to how it leaps to attack, and "サシ" refers to how it pierces and stabs Pikmin to kill them.
Scientific name: Suprictis rubro. "Rubro" is an archaic Italian way of saying "red", referring to its color.
Internal names: NOMI. "ノミ" directly translates into flea.
Prerelease: Unknown

Names in other languages

Language	Name	Meaning	Notes
Japanese	ノミンコ^? Nominko	Tiny Flea
Chinese (traditional)	跳蚤蛆仔 Tiàozao Qūzǐ	Flea Maggotlet
Chinese (simplified)	跳蚤蛆仔 Tiàozao Qūzǐ	Flea Maggotlet
Dutch	Vlogruppie
French	Boufpuce		The name is a portmanteau of "bouffe" (eat, grub) and "puce" (flea)
German	Flohtos
Italian	Tarlopulce	Fleaworm	The name is a portmanteau of tarlo (woodworm) and pulce (flea)
Korean	벼룩 Byeoruk	Flea
Portuguese	Pulgão-lacera	Shred aphid
Spanish	Comején pulga	Flea sheargrub

Gallery

A group of Shearfleas in Pikmin 4's Piklopedia.
Three Shearfleas trying to eat a Pikpik carrot.
A Shearflea jumping away with a Yellow Pikmin in Below-Grade Discotheque with another in the background.
Two corpses of Shearfleas being carried by a Yellow Pikmin and a Red Pikmin.
Shearfleas as found in Hotshock Canyon.
Ten defeated Shearfleas in the Piklopedia.