Author Notes - I don't think it's an unpopular opinion to say that Dirigibugs kinda suck. I think anyone who's played through the Subterranean Complex and/or the Cavern of Chaos has bad memories involving these things. Even though I've mostly gotten to the point where I can either kill or avoid them with ease (hint: use White Pikmin to zoom outta there), they're still annoying as hell.
DIRIGIBUG FAMILY
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Pseudoinsecta
Order: Combustipod
EMILY'S PERSONAL NOTES
Oh, cos that's fair! Straight-up dropping bombs on me while I'm just trying to make a good sketch. Seriously, there's very few animals in the world that I don't like, and this thing is one of them. I cannot begin to explain how RUDE it is that they drop bombs on people!
Hoooo boy... sorry, had to vent for a bit. I've seen too many soldiers fall to this thing to stay calm. As much as these things cause trouble for me, I have to admit, they're pretty dang cool. What else do you say about a creature that can literally generate explosions from its body? The whole 'float with balloons' thing is, somehow, one of the stranger things on this planet. I have to wonder where the rest of this family is, seeing as this thing doesn't really fit in and is the only creature like it in EVERY place I looked.
(Also, can someone remind me it's DiriGIbug, not simply 'Diribug'?)
PHYSICAL APPEARANCES
The Flotillium circusmaximus (Careening Dirigibug) bears a striking resemblance to the little known insect, the Bocydium globulare (commonly known as the Brazilian Treehopper), though there are major differences.
The Dirigibug has a dark green body vaguely in a spherical shape, with a small 'tail' at the back. Two long arms emerge from the front of its body, both with spherical joints for the elbow and shoulder, and right above the shoulders are its yellow eyes. Two long antennae, both with a singular bend in the middle, sprout above these eyes. An odd rectangular outline covers the front of its face. Its mouth, only visible thanks to two small mandibles, is below this outline, and a big yellow 'target' can be seen on its underside.
On the very top of this creature is a growth somewhat resembling a tree sprouting from the ground, and has five 'branches'. Each of these 'branches' has an elastic sac at the end, though in regular circumstances these sacs are near impossible to see. Typically, the Dirigibug will inflate these sacs with self-produced helium, and the result is five sacs that highly-resemble spherical balloons. On most specimens, the five 'balloons' will each be one of the following colours - red, purple, orange, yellow, and green. Typically, no two balloons on the same specimen will be the same colour.
HABITAT
Dirigibugs have only ever been spotted deep underground, and never above the surface. The caverns they are best known for inhabiting are the ones resembling a layered complex of rusted iron. Though these caverns are usually surrounded by a seemingly bottomless void, this creature can float about these voids with ease. They can, however, also be found in dangerous caverns lined with dirt and concrete. Regardless of where they live, they should be taken as a warning that the path ahead is quite difficult.
The Careening Dirigibug is the only one of its kind to be found in the ecosystem. No other species yet to be found on the planet has this creature's bizarre characteristics. This has led to many theories that attempt to explain this, with most of them detailing the creature arriving from another ecosystem, by choice or otherwise.
DIET AND DEFENCES
Since very few of the caverns they call their home have edible plant life, Dirigibugs have evolved to primarily consume meat from various creatures. Depending on the specifics of their habitat, oxidized iron may serve as an occasional treat that helps boost their iron levels. Dirigibugs separated from their homes often die due to a lack of iron intake, and those living in concrete have exhibited lower (though not dangerously so) levels of the mineral.
The Careening Dirigibug is infamous for its rather violent method of attack compared to the other creatures it resides with. It is capable of self-generating round rocks covered in cracks, known colloquially as 'Bomb Rocks', named as such as these rocks contain highly explosive minerals within them will go off (with a timer) if exposed to the slightest brunt force. This explosion, though small in size, is big in power and almost no creature on the planet can resist it. In fact, the only reason why the Dirigibug isn't hurt by this attack is because it always floats just high enough to avoid the blast. If it gets caught in its own blast, it will die.
The inflated sacs that keep it afloat are, as one may expect, easily to burst. If the Dirigibug receives enough damage, the sacs will pop just like balloons and it will fall to the ground. It has no way to defend itself when in this state, and will focus solely on reinflating its sacs so it can return to the air.
SOCIAL STRUCTURE
Dirigibugs may be insanely aggressive to intruders and very prone to blowing them up, but they are far less hostile to each other. In fact, interactions between specimens are surprisingly friendly, so much so that it can often lead to people underestimating just how antagonistic they are. Even rival males prefer cooperation for food and mating over aggression.
They are hardly ever seen alone, preferring to stay in groups. The size of these groups typically range between 2-3, though rarely they can have up to five members. The bigger groups will consist of only one male and the rest will be female, while smaller groups often lack the opposite sex entirely. Bachelor groups of exclusively males are uncommon, but not hard to find.
In most groups, the only male will be in charge and decide everything, from where they live to what they hunt. The females obey him without question (I do not care how this sounds; we're dealing with wild animals here). For single-sex groups, it entirely depends on who the biggest member of the group is. Regardless, all 'leaders' are met with minimum resistance.
COURTING AND CHILDREARING
Courting between Dirigibugs is surprisingly passive for such violent creatures. Once a year - or the equivalent of a year underground - all specimens will begin mating. In mixed-gender groups, the sole male will proceed to mate with all the female members. The females not only allow him to do so but appear to enjoy the act, showing a rarity among non-sapient beings to take pleasure in procreation instead of merely doing it for survival purposes.
Single-sex groups will go out searching for the opposite sex at around the same time. When two groups of opposing sex meet, mating proceeds in much the same way. If the groups are the same size, then mating becomes a simple one-to-one affair. If there are more males, the smaller and weaker ones will allow the bigger and stronger males to do the mating. If there are more females, it will proceed as it does for bachelor groups.
When a female Dirigibug is ready to lay her eggs, she will use her own explosions to dig out a burrow if she lives in the concrete caves, or will simply lay them in a pipe if she lives in the rusty abysses instead. All females in each group will lay their eggs in the same spot, and will keep them safe together. Males will remain near them until they hatch after a few weeks, and will leave to find more females to mate with afterwards. Mother Dirigibugs are extremely protective over their eggs. In fact, they are willing to blow themselves up if it keeps their eggs safe. The hatchlings grow very quickly, growing their balloons and going independent after only a week.
OTHER NOTES
There are rumours that Dirigibugs will sometimes throw dud bomb-rocks. This is not completely inaccurate, though not in the way people expect. Rarely, a Dirigibug fails to develop the correct minerals inside its body to create working bombs as it matures, rendering it unable to create working explosives. Since they have little means with which to defend themselves, they usually do not live long. Bomb-rocks generated by unaffected Dirigibugs will never be duds. Do not take the risk.
NOTES FROM OTHER RESEARCHERS
Careening Dirigibug -
Can't fault this design at all! It flies so it's hard to hit, and it throws bombs so it's hard to survive against. The only problem is that the balloons are rather fragile, but that doesn't matter so much when its weaponry is bombs! - Alph
I hate it. Plain and simple. I hate it. It's almost mocking me. It can't even get hit with its own bombs because it just flies above them! Every time I see one, it makes me want to EXPLODE! - Brittany
I'd never thought I would see an airplane bomber in nature, but here we are. As frustrating as this soldier is to deal with, I just can't get mad. It's one of the most effective fighters I've ever seen! Maybe I should try to recruit one... - Captain Charlie
Author Notes - The 'dud bomb-rock' thing is a claim from its SSBB trophy, which states that it can sometimes drop dud bombs. Which, er, it can't. Outside of very rare glitches, but I doubt that's what it was referring to.
Anyway, next time we're dealing with one of the more fun entries to write. It's a family with one particular member who has gone down as one of the most mysterious Pikmin enemies, due to all the rumours floating around. It's time for the Dweevils, baby!
