Red Bulborb

Red Bulborbs are among the most well-known enemies in the Pikmin games, appearing in all games in the series.

Character description
Red Bulborbs are among the most mammalian enemies in the series due to them having leathery, soft skin and bulbous eyes, opposed to the compound eyes of most insects. Judging by the size of their eyes and their nocturnal lifestyle, their eyes have a wide pupil, a large lens and possible increased retinal surface used for collecting more ambient light during night time.

Olimar mentions the Red Bulborbs having a set of mandibles. Mandibles are a pair of appendages near an insects mouth, used for grinding and chewing food. The so-called mandibles Olimar mentions in his notes look nothing like normal mandibles and are instead most likely sabre-teeth, used for breaking exoskeletons of prey insects and digging through the soil for roots. It is very likely that Bulborbs are omnivorous creatures.

It seems that the juvenile Red Bulborb is the favored host of the parasitic Pikmin known as Bulbmin. This type of Pikmin appears to control its host, causing the animal to behave less like a Bulborb and much more like a Pikmin, following a Captain (which is naturally an older Bulbmin) and hunting in packs. Red Bulborbs are not observed at the two stages of development displayed by Bulbmin anywhere else in-game (unlike the Spotty Bulbear), so it is unknown whether Bulbmin are a common stage in Red Bulborb initial development or not, as symbiotic cooperation from the parasite would give this slightly weaker form of Grub-dog an advantage in the subterranean environment that all stages of the Red Bulborb species are found in.

In Super Smash Flash 2
In Super Smash Flash 2, the Bulborb appears in Distant Planet as a background character where he sleeps along with Cloaking Burrow-nit.