Nectarous Dandelfly

Nectarous Dandelfly
Appears in	Pikmin 3
Scientific name	Anisopterid ambrosius
Family	Dandelfly
Areas	Twilight River, Formidable Oak
Mission Mode Collect Treasure! stages	Thirsty Desert Remix
Mission Mode Battle Enemies! stages	Twilight River Remix
Side Story days	River
Bingo Battle stages	None
Attacks	None

The Nectarous Dandelfly (ウスバミツモチ^?, lit.: "Antlion Nectar Holder") is a harmless enemy in Pikmin 3 that acts as a replacement for the Honeywisp. It resembles a large dragonfly-like creature with a segmented body reminiscent of a caterpillar or honeypot ant, and has the face of a butterfly with its proboscis.

The Nectarous Dandelfly drifts carelessly around, not minding enemies or nearby Pikmin. If a Pikmin touches on one of its hind segments, that segment will disconnect from the body, along with all tail segments connected to it. They will all fall onto the ground and collapse into puddles of nectar. Because there are 5 segments, the number of Pikmin that can be flowered up, which goes from 10 to 50, depends on the location the enemy is hit. Throwing a Pikmin near the creature's head will also result in all five segments falling down. After being hit once, it will quickly fly away.

StatsEdit

Weight	Max. carriers	Seeds	Value	Health
N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A^{[note 1]}	15^{[note 2]}

^ The game files specify this value to be 5.
^ Only non-thrown Winged Pikmin can damage it without instantly taking it down.

Notes

Alph's comments

“Structural flaw: fragile links
Weight: unknown

There's no need to attack these gentle, flying creatures, but the nectar they drop makes it tempting to do it anyway. Wait until the right moment in its circular flight pattern, then toss a Pikmin at it. If you hit one of the nectar nodules, it'll drop a little bit, but hitting the head will make it drop them all. I feel a little bad about stealing the nectar it stores up, but we need to survive, too.”

Brittany's comments

“I'm positive that if we follow it long enough, it'll lead us to the source of all that nectar hanging off its belly. Big fruits, here we come! Hang on, didn't we just walk through here? Does this thing only fly in circles?!”

Charlie's comments

“Look at him. Flying around like he owns the sky. All that nectar hanging just out of reach. Well, I'll get the last laugh. It may be out of range of my steely fists, but I've got some Winged Pikmin who'd like a crack at it!”

Louie's comments

“Tear the meat right off the belly and eat raw. The bitterness of the meat really highlights the sweetness of the nectar.”

Olimar's comments

“Nectarous Dandelfly
Anisopterid ambrosius
Dandelfly family

Its life cycle comes in two stages. First, it hatches underwater, where the amphibious larva preys on tadpoles and other small, aquatic creatures. After it grows large enough, it takes to the surface and completely changes its diet to focus on plant nectar. The more nectar it feeds on, the more segments form on its abdomen. Upon reaching five segments, it is a mature adult ready for procreation. Its straw-like proboscis curls upward to prevent reflux from the nectar it stores.”

Pikmin 3 Prima GuideEdit

“The Nectarous Dandelfly is a harmless flying creature that carries a large amount of nectar in its segmented body. When you encounter a Nectarous Dandelfly, use your Winged Pikmin to attack the creature. To yield the maximum amount of Nectar, focus your attacks on the Nectarous Dandelfly's head.”

BehaviorEdit

The Nectarous Dandelfly, in each location it is observed in, follows a set path. It emits an echoing chirp-like noise when nearby, which is a good indicator of its presence. The creature flies at a moderately high height, and is at most points difficult to hit with any Pikmin aside from Yellow Pikmin and Winged Pikmin. After it is hit once, it will not die, but rather fly away, not returning for the rest of the day or mission.

StrategyEdit

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

Since the Nectarous Dandelfly is harmless, you only have to focus on aiming well and hitting it once, provided it is alone. Unless you are in desperate need of nectar, don't go out and try to find this creature, even if you know its path; let it come to you instead, or leave it up to chance for you to stumble upon it. Yellow Pikmin are the best option, as they can be thrown highest and can be aimed better than Winged Pikmin, who may not always hit the body segment you were hoping for. If you want to gather the most nectar, aim and throw a Pikmin at the spot where the head will be the moment the Pikmin reaches the same height as it; if you miss, you can try again, and if you land the hit on the head, it will provide five pools of nectar. Aiming in any other way carries a higher risk of hitting a later segment in the body, which results in less nectar overall.

Technical informationEdit

Pikmin 3 technical information (?)
Internal name	`yamma`
HP	15
Rock Pikmin throw hits to kill	1
White Pikmin ingestions to kill	0
Bomb rock explosions to kill	1
Bomb rock ingestions to kill	0
Number of direct hits on top to kill	0
Damage to leaders	10
Territory radius	0
Mission Mode value	5

NamingEdit

Names in other languagesEdit

Language	Name	Meaning	Notes
Japanese	ウスバミツモチ^? Usuba Mitsu Moshi	Antlion Nectar Holder
Chinese (traditional)	薄翅蜜蟲
French	Nectuline	From "Nectar"
German	Nektarbelle	Nectargonfly	From "nektar" (nectar) and "libelle" (dragonfly)
Korean	얇은날개꿀벌레
Spanish (NoA)	Libélula nectarina	Nectarine dragonfly
Spanish (NoE)	Libélula nectarina	Nectarine dragonfly

GalleryEdit

The Nectarous Dandelfly in the Twilight River.
Frontal view of a Nectarous Dandelfly.
Bottom view of a Nectarous Dandelfly flying above the player.
A Nectarous Dandelfly.
A Nectarous Dandelfly in an early lily pad area.

TriviaEdit

The Nectarous Dandelfly was among the first Pikmin 3 enemies shown, appearing at the start of the E3 2012 presentation alongside the Skeeterskate.
Since the Dandelfly does not actually die when attacked, it doesn't count as an enemy in the one Battle Enemies! stage it is present in.
Where Olimar's comments mention preying on tadpoles, the Japanese version specifically mentions Wogpoles.
This is one of the few non-boss creatures to first appear in Pikmin 3 that does not reappear in Pikmin 4, the others being the Medusal Slurker, Swarming Sheargrub, Sputtlefish, Calcified Crushblat, Scornet, and Phosbat.