Swarming Sheargrub

Swarming Sheargrub
Appears in	Pikmin 3
Scientific name	Himeagea turba
Family	Mandiblard
Areas	Tropical Wilds
Mission Mode Collect Treasure! stages	Beastly Caverns
Mission Mode Battle Enemies! stages	Tropical Wilds Remix
Side Story days	None
Bingo Battle stages	Jigsaw Fortress
Attacks	Weighs down objects

The Swarming Sheargrub (ブリコ^?) is a green Sheargrub with red eyes found as an enemy in Pikmin 3. It, in every way excluding size and color, resembles a Female Sheargrub. Swarming Sheargrubs are known to follow Pikmin from a distance and can distract an entire squad as a result.

They move around in swarms at high speed (fastest of any known mandiblard). They have no form of offense but can move quickly, taking any attacking Pikmin with them. Once they come across any nectar, they will consume it and grow in size. They can also hide under plants, like Pikmin. Most swarms come in groups of eight.

When they spot a salvageable object – such as a fruit, pellet, Victory Macaroon, or carcass – they will jump and sit on top of it, weighing it down and thus, making it require more Pikmin to carry. The larger they are, the more they will weigh.

While they are an annoying hindrance to the player, they are easily defeated like any other type of mandiblard. However, once a single member of a swarm is harmed, the rest will disperse and run away at very high speeds. It's advised to call all Pikmin back at this point, as they will attempt to chase the fleeing Sheargrubs, only to end up getting themselves lost.

Stats

Weight	Max. carriers	Seeds	Value	Health
1	1	1	× 5 × 5	45

Locations

In Tropical Wilds, they spawn on the bend with the two Pyroclasmic Slooches in a group of eight above the ground where the Lesser Mock Bottom is located. However due to their travelling nature, they can cover the entire main area once all bags have been pushed and all bridges built.

In Battle Enemies! Tropical Wilds Remix eight spawn in the same place, but this time they're much closer to the Master Onion and appear refined to that area of the map.

In Collect Treasures! Beastly Caverns, two groups of four spawn in the top area, one appearing on a drop of nectar hence growing in size. They patrol the entire above-ground area. To note they stop and hide under some foliage time to time.

In Jigsaw Fortress layout C, twenty five Swarming Sheargrubs spawn, five groups of five. One group spawns on the fortress itself next to the Face Wrinkler. The rest spawn on the ground, one near the Medusal Slurker and Insect Condo, one near the Disguised Delicacy, one near the blue marble and Bearded Amprat and one near the Dapper Blob. The four on the ground move about the area and are capable of being crushed by the Baldy Long Legs.

Strategy

Swarming Sheargrubs are not difficult to kill – virtually any type of Pikmin can kill an individual Sheargrub in a few hits. Killing the entire swarm is largely a waste of time, as the swarm will disperse and flee after the Pikmin begin attacking. If one wishes to do so, a single well-aimed bomb rock will do the trick.

If their ability to disrupt transit is a concern, assigning more Pikmin than is strictly required to carry fruits can help offset the weight if any happen to latch on.

Notes

Alph's comments

“Structural flaw: back
Weight: 1

They use their numbers to hunt for fruit and nectar and try to get you separated from your Pikmin. We have to remember that we need numbers on our side too if we want to fight back!”

Brittany's comments

“I can forgive a lot of things in the animals on this planet. Damaging my suit, sure. Capturing the captain, OK. But stealing fruit and nectar from the Pikmin?! That's low!”

Charlie's comments

“One way to defeat an enemy is to cut off their supply lines. That's the mode of attack these flying things use. They suck up nectar, weigh down pellets, and do whatever they can to keep our numbers low and our troops starved.”

Louie's comments

“Boil and swallow whole. The real gastronomic joy of this creature is how smooth it goes down.”

Olimar's comments

“Swarming Sheargrub
Himeagea turba
Mandiblard family

In contrast to the more common variety of mandiblards, it spends its entire life aboveground without ever going below the surface. It hunts for food in packs, preferring to feed on nectar and fruit juice since its jaws are too weak to capture prey. It grows quickly after feeding, but it has difficulty moving at its larger size.”

Pikmin 3 Prima Guide

“As the name implies, these fast-moving enemies travel in relatively large groups. Swarming Sheargrubs patrol established paths, jostling any Pikmin they encounter along the way. These pests often latch onto fruit while it's being transported. This essentially increases the weight of the fruit, making it more difficult for your Pikmin to carry.”

Technical information

Pikmin 3 technical information (?)
Internal name	`ujinko_a (c)`
HP	45
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	1
Damage to leaders	0
Territory radius	200
Mission Mode value	5

Naming

Names in other languages

Language	Name	Meaning
Japanese	ブリコ^? Buriko
Chinese (traditional)	團團蛆仔
French	Boufpon grouillant	Portmanteau of bouffe (eat, grub) and pont (bridge); Swarming bridge-eater
German	Schwarm-Termitentos	Swarm Sheargrub
Italian	Tarlo da battaglia	Battle Sheargrub
Korean	떼벼룩
Spanish (NoA)	Comején fructófilo	Fructophilic termite
Spanish (NoE)	Comején fructófilo	Fructophilic termite

Gallery

Close up of a Swarming Sheargrub.
Swarming Sheargrubs weighing down a Scaly Custard.
Pikmin carrying a Velvety Dreamdrop infested with Swarming Sheargrubs.
A group of Swarming Sheargrubs in Tropical Wilds.
Swarming Sheargrubs drinking nectar, notice the size difference between them.
A swarm weighing down a Velvety Dreamdrop, as shown by the carrying numbers.
The corpse of a Swarming Sheargrub.

Trivia

These are the only known enemies that can increase in size by consuming an item.
When a Swarming Sheargrub gets on top of an object or drinks nectar, a munching sound can be heard.
In the April 17^th, 2013 Nintendo Direct footage that revealed Winged Pikmin, Swarming Sheargrub sound effects can be heard in the Twilight River, suggesting that they were originally going to appear in that area.
Oddly, their corpses are very light, and can be pushed very easily by having a leader walk into them. This is not true for other mandiblards.

Swarming Sheargrub

Contents

Stats

Locations

Strategy