Swooping Snitchbug

The Swooping Snitchbug is a legless, round, flying insect that developed wing-like antennae as a means of locomotion. They swoop down, as their name suggests, and grab their prey with their claws, a maximum of two at once. They can grab Pikmin that are on the ground, in the air, and even from a leader's hand. After carrying them for a few seconds, they violently throw them towards the ground, either separately or both at once depending on the game. This action would harm most prey, whereas Pikmin are simply replanted, and in and, reverted to the leaf stage. In, they are also able to pick up leaders much like Bumbling Snitchbugs do; if they don't escape, they will be tossed to the ground and harmed. These creatures plummet to the ground when weighed down by a sufficient number of Pikmin or with a single Purple Pikmin, or struck by a single Rock Pikmin, rendering them susceptible to further attack.

In, they will attempt to swoop straight down, grab Pikmin, and fly back up without coming back again, counting as a Pikmin death.

=In fanon games= }

In Pikmin 251
In Pikmin 251, the Swooping Snitchbug behaves similarly to how it does in, but flies farther away to bury captive Pikmin.

In Pikmin Eco
The Swooping Snitchbug returns in Pikmin Eco. It retains many of its past behaviors: it will fly down and snatch up either a leader or a Pikmin, carry them around for a while, and then throw them harshly at the ground.

In Pikspore
The Swooping Snitchbug appears in Pikspore, and has a darkfreeze variant known as the Darkfreeze Snitchbug.