Author Notes - And now it's time for Pikmin 3's answer to the Puffmin, as your evil counterpart to your own army.

HUNTINPECK FAMILY

Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Anthropoda
Class: Pseudoinsecta
Order: Skymenoptera

EMILY'S PERSONAL NOTES

They're just like Pikmin! Except mean instead of helpful. The Pikmin are just a little more resilient though, seeing as the death or departure of their leader doesn't immediately result in their deaths. I mean, it might as well in most cases because those little carrots always seem to end up going extinct somehow. I'll give the Scornets credit, though. They're certainly more obedient than the Pikmin, who sometimes decide that they're bored with me. That might just be a me thing though, because the other Captains don't report so much munity.

The little guys little threw me off a lilypad. Like, they clearly knew I would survive, but they literally overthrew their captain. I think they were just in a cheeky mood that day.

PHYSICAL APPEARANCES

The Spourgitis advenus (Scornet) are wasp-like creatures shaped much like a cone. They have big blue eyes on the 'top' of their bodies, and their abdomens are covered in yellow scales that are tipped blue at the end. It almost appears to be wearing a yellow dress trimmed with blue. Its wings are small and thin.

The Scornet Maestro is the same species, but has a totally different appearance to its smaller brethren. Its 'dress' is much more impressive and detailed, it has two pairs of wings instead of just one, and it features a mighty cress on top of its head. It has a lyriform mouth, which when opened reveals strings of hardened saliva resembling the strings on a harp.

The Spourgitis apium (Sparrowhead) is much like the Scornets, but its body is round and orange instead. Unlike the insect-like faces of the Scornets, the Sparrowhead's face is instead more like a bird, with a beak-like drill and eyes on the side of its head.

HABITAT

Members of the Huntinpeck family live in forests, with plenty of flowers that supply nectar for drinking. While Sparrowheads often remain in the same area their whole lives, Scornets migrate up and down rivers as the seasons change. They follow their queen loyally and endlessly, flying to and from cooler climates with little rest.

DIET AND DEFENCES

Like the bees they highly resemble, Scornets and Sparrowheads consume primarily nectar. Their preferred flowers are white and purple, though any colour will do if they must. Scornets are willing to fly for miles to find their favourite nectar. Unlike bees, however, they have no stingers and their mouths double as an effective weapon. They can sting or even skewer their enemies, which often scares anything away but may also cause the victim to faint or even die from the blood loss. Sparrowheads, in contrast, will use their beaks like a stringer instead.

A Maestro will defend herself not with a stinger, but with her colony of Scornets. In her 'jaws' is a series of strings formed by hardened saliva, that produce a harp-like sound when plucked. She plays several tunes that each indicate an attack formation, and only her own colony knows the differences. Attack formations include, but are not limited to: a cone, square rows of flanks, and a circle closing in.

SOCIAL STRUCTURE

Scornets follow a social structure nearly identical to that of bees. The queen rules over the entire hive, and has an entire swarm of female workers that obey her orders. The vast majority of Scornets are female, and the few males that there are exist solely for the queen to mate with them and then die.

The swarms of Sparrowheads are much looser, without a queen to rule over them. They stay together purely because survival odds are much higher in groups. Still, they are mostly female and the males do nothing but mate with the females and die.

COURTING AND CHILDREARING

Members of this family reproduce much like bees. Male Scornets fly close to their Maestro, hoping that one day the queen will choose to mate with them. Whichever male flies the fastest will be the first one that the Maestro chooses. Once she mates with him, the male will die. All of the eggs are the Maestro, and only one of them will be her successor. Male Sparrowheads will fight for the honour of being mated. Only a few males survive the fights, and will mate with all the females before their deaths.

OTHER NOTES

The Scornets rely heavily on their Maestro. If the Maestro is slain in battle, her Scornets will be so confused and directionless that they will all perish in seconds.

NOTES FROM OTHER RESEARCHERS

Scornet -

These buzzing swarms are rare but dangerous. Normal Pikmin aren't built to handle these insects. They'll just get carried off. Use Winged Pikmin instead. - Alph

If only I could whistle just the right tune or pitch, I bet I could get them to carry me around this planet. I'd only need one, but I'm sure it would take a lot more to get Alph or the captain airborne. - Brittany (Emily's Notes: I checked. You weigh MORE than Alph. ... D-Don't ask me how I know this.)

These swarms of tiny terrors are well-organised. Then again, so are we! I'll put my leadership skills to the test against their numbers any day! Pikmin, fall out! - Captain Charlie

Scornet Maestro -

It takes real charisma to command such a large team. It's a lot like our captain that way! For instance, he... Well, there's... Hmm. Maybe not. - Alph

I'd like to listen to that pretty sound while I eat some fruit. It looks to be well taken care of by the surrounding little bees. I envy that. I suppose I've only got Alph and Captain. I could only do a half of what I want... - Brittany

The maestro leads a whole swarm of scornets flying in perfect military formation. My leadership over the Pikmin might not be that tight, but we do OK. I'd put my whistle up against this gal's harp any day of the week! - Captain Charlie

Sparrowhead -

It loses the effective grouping of its peers, but it makes up for it by being far more independant and coordinated. They may be far easier to overwhelm, but at least they won't perish the moment their leader dies. - Alph

They're kinda cute up close, aren't they? Well, you won't be thinking they're so cute when they swoop down from the sky to attack you! ... Actually, they're still kinda cute. Just, you know, LESS so. - Brittany

Perhaps it only attacks one at a time, unlike the Scornets, but this little bird-bee-fluffball thing is not to be underestimated. I've got the poke-marks in my behind to prove it! ... Wait, ignore that part. - Captain Charlie

Author Notes - It's always a pet peeve of mine when there's a movie about bees or ants, but the main protagonist is a male worker ant/bee. Like, I know that ants/bees don't build inventions or file court cases either, but it's STILL INACCURATE! This has nothing to do with Pikmin since they actually get it right.

Next time, we're tackling the BIGGEST of the big bois. Oh yeah, it's Mireclops time.