Bug Zombie


 * 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.

Almanac entry
TOUGHNESS: Protected 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 17.5 normal damage shots and degrades upon absorbing 8.75 normal damage shots, before dying at 17.5 normal damage shots. 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)

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, and Squash can instantly kill both the bug and the zombie it carries. Tall-nuts and Infi-nut'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, it is better to use Blover than Hurrikale because of sun cost and speed recharge. It can be very dangerous in Beghouled, too. Try to make matches of 4 to kill this zombie quickly

Lost City - Day 32/Modern Day - Day 34
Bug Zombies can be a threat in these levels. Since Bug Zombie can fly past the defenders and get to the other side of the garden without any problem. If the bug dies, the carrying zombie could activate some boulder trap tiles causing destruction in 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 dragonfly's blood.
 * Electrocuting it will make the skeleton of the Bug visible.
 * However, insects in real life do not have any bones.
 * It is referred to as "Zombug" in social media by PopCap.
 * The bug is the second zombie that has bandages in its degrades. The first one is Gargantuar in the first game.
 * The Bug may be based on Meganeura, a species of extinct insects of the Permian Period that were similar to modern day dragonflies.
 * 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.
 * Its ability to fly past plants is shared between Dodo Rider Zombie, Seagull Zombie, Jetpack Zombie and Balloon Zombie.
 * Magnet-shroom cannot steal buckets from Buckethead Adventurer Zombies carried by them. This is probably because the Buckethead isn't a zombie until it's dropped.
 * It is one of the two zombies where the animal carries the zombie, other being Seagull Zombie.
 * It, Camel Zombies, Admiral Helmet Zombie, Knight Zombie, Blockhead Zombie, Jurassic Fossilhead, and Brickhead Zombie are the only new zombies introduced in Plants vs. Zombies 2 that can degrade to a normal zombie.
 * Its Summer Nights Piñata Party costume makes the dragonfly resemble a firefly instead of a dragonfly.
 * It is the only non-Player's House zombie to have a variant in the Summer Nights Piñata Parties.
 * For an instant when a bug is killed, the zombie cannot be damaged.
 * 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.
 * It will temporarily stop moving forward to raise altitude when flying over a plant, a fact which can be used to stall it. This trait also applies to Jetpack Zombie and Balloon Zombie.
 * In the Chinese version, when the bug dies, the zombie it carries becomes a Level 1 Zombie, even if the bug is level 2, 3 or 4.