 "Herrenvolk" saw the death of Steven Williams'character X, and featured the first appearance of Mulder's sister Samantha, a character described by Carter as the "lifeblood" of the series, since the second season premiere, "Little Green Men". The episode featured scenes filmed using swarms of bees, which caused problems due to the difficulty of taming and directing the animals. Other special effects in the episode were achieved through motion control photography.
