Bug Zombie

Bug carries zombie over ground defenses and lifts him over barriers.

 (killing the bug on an empty tile will spawn a copy of itself, while also destroying the zombie)
 (prioritizes zombie)

### First seen

Lost City - Day 11

Bug Zombie and Bug make a great team. Partly because Bug gives Bug Zombie great mobility, but mostly because they share an intense disinterest in horses.

*Not to be confused with the Bug Bot Imp, the Imp variant in Far Future.*
**Bug Zombie** is the eighth zombie encountered in Lost City in *Plants vs. Zombies 2*. The bug can carry a Basic, Conehead, or Buckethead Adventurer Zombie. It greatly improves the zombie's speed, making it easier for the zombies to advance. The Kernel-pult's butter can destroy the bug instantly, while using Blover or Hurrikale will kill both the zombie and the bug, just like all other flying zombies. Additionally, Tall-nut and Infi-nut's shield can stop it from moving. The bug has separate health from the zombie it is carrying. When it is destroyed, the zombie will fall to the ground and advance normally.

## Origins

    The Bug is most likely based of the *Meganeura*, an extinct species of giant dragonfly that lived during the Carboniferous period.

## Almanac entry

**Bug Zombie**

TOUGHNESS: Solid

SPEED: Speedy

Bug carries zombie in over ground defenses and lifts him over barriers.

Bug Zombie and Bug make a great team. Partly because Bug gives Bug Zombie great mobility, but mostly because they share an intense disinterest in horses.

## Overview

The bug absorbs 350 damage per shot and degrades upon absorbing 175 damage per shot, before dying at 350 damage per shot. After its death it drops the zombie that it was carrying.

## Encounters

* Player's House: Piñata Party
* Big Wave Beach: Piñata Party
* Lost City: Days 11-32, Temple of Bloom, and Piñata Party
* Modern Day: Day 34, and Highway to the Danger Room (portal only)
* Arena: Dandelion's Brainstorm Tournament

## Strategies

Bug Zombies are dangerous zombies due to their speed and the amount of damage they absorb, especially because they sometimes carry a Buckethead Adventurer Zombie. Because of this potential health boost, it is a bigger threat than the Seagull Zombie and Jetpack Zombie. Like the aforementioned zombies, Blover or Hurrikale will blow them off the screen, killing them instantly, and making usage of the two plants an easy way to get rid of Bug Zombies. Kernel-pult is also a choice to consider, but it relies solely on luck (butter) and it kills only the bug, leaving the zombie behind. Using this plant is not recommended if Parasol Zombies are also present, as they can deflect its kernels and butter. Plants such as Cherry Bomb, Jalapeno, Squash, Spore-shroom, Toadstool, and Chomper can instantly kill both the bug and the zombie it carries. Tall-nuts and Infi-nut/Moonflower's force field will also stop this zombie. Since Bug Zombies usually come in hordes at later levels of Lost City and at Temple of Bloom levels, the only resonable solution is a Blover since Hurrikale only covers a single lane. It can be very dangerous in Beghouled, too. Try to make matches of four to kill this zombie quickly.

Like other flying zombies, flying Bug Zombies cannot be dragged by Grimrose, so avoid using this plant against them. However, if a Buckethead Adventurer goes inside too deep, you'll have to use this plant if you don't have anything like a Blover.

### Lost City - Day 32/Modern Day - Day 34

Bug Zombies can be a threat in these levels. Since Bug Zombie can fly past the defensive plants and reach the player's house without much of a problem. If the bug dies, the carrying zombie could activate some boulder trap tiles, causing destruction to your defenses.

### Highway to the Danger Room

Bug Zombies that appear in the early waves in these levels can cause trouble, especially if they are carrying Buckethead Adventurer Zombies, as it can appear halfway into the player's lawn through portals, and the player may not be prepared for them, as they may be still setting up their defenses or did not choose any plants that could counter them, since they do not appear in the seed selection menu. Cold Snapdragon can help, as it has a reliable cost of 150 sun and can slow down both the bug and the zombie. If you brought Blover or Hurrikale with you, simply use one of them.

## Trivia

* When it is killed, a green ooze-like splash is visible. This is supposedly the bug's blood and guts.
* Electrocuting it will show a tiny zombie inside the bug body pedaling it and powering it mechanically.
	+ This suggests that the bug is not actually a bug at all, but rather a vehicle for a tiny zombie inside.
* It is referred to as "Zombug" in social media by PopCap.
* Although there are Conehead and Buckethead variants, only the regular variant is shown in the Almanac.
	+ This trait is shared with Ducky Tube Zombie from the first game and 8-Bit Zombie.
* Magnet-shroom could not steal buckets from Buckethead Adventurer Zombies carried by them before the zombie was dropped.
	+ However, after a certain update, if Magnet-shroom is planted, all of the buckets will disappear, but after the zombie is dropped, the buckets re-appear again.
* Its Summer Nights Piñata Party costume makes the bug resemble a firefly instead of a dragonfly.
* The dropped zombie is invincible for about a second when the bug is destroyed. This can be observed with dense-firing projectiles. If you use a Plant Food on a Peashooter, it will kill the bug quickly and you will see a few peas that pass through the zombie instead of hitting it.
* In the Neon Mixtape Tour Side B Piñata Parties, after a bug is killed, the dropped Adventurer Zombie changes into a Neon Zombie.
	+ This also happened with Zombie Bull in Summer Nights: when the Bull Rider Zombie was launched, the Imp immediately turned into Hot Dog Imp.
* When it is stalled by Stallia, poisoned by Shadow-shroom, or chilled by ice-based plants, killing the bug will remove the effect.
* If it is hypnotized, either by Caulipower or Enchant-mint, and then the bug is killed, it will drop the zombie who continues to walk toward the player's house instead of being hypnotized.

### Specific to the Chinese version (China only)

* Before the 1.7.0 update, the zombie it carried would always be at level 1, regardless of the bug's level.

## See also

* Balloon Zombie
* Balloon Imp Child
* Seagull Zombie
* Pelican Zombie

de:Käfer-Zombie
ru:Зомби-жук
fr:Zombinsecte