Tarantula Hawk
A wasp that hunts spiders. It has no other hobbies.
Epic bugs unlock with XP you earn playing online, or with coins. The game shows how to get each one.
Passive: Spider Hunter
+18% boost speed, and +8% of their mass when you squish a spider or ambusher.
A passive is always on: you never fire it and it never runs out. It is what the Tarantula Hawk does that no other bug does quite the same way.
Stats
Stats are multipliers on the standard bug, which is ×1.00 in everything (the game shows them as percentages: ×1.14 is 114%). Turn is Agility in the game. For Boost drain, lower is cheaper.
| Stat | Tarantula Hawk | Compared with the standard bug |
|---|---|---|
| Speed | ×1.14 | 14% faster |
| Turn | ×1.00 | the standard |
| Bulk | ×1.02 | 2% thicker |
| Growth | ×1.04 | 4% more from food |
| Boost | ×1.18 | boosts 18% faster |
| Boost drain | ×1.20 | boosting costs 20% more |
| Spawn mass | 18 | the standard |
Power-ups
Every bug has 5 power-up slots. The Tarantula Hawk can carry 8 of the game's 18 power-ups: the 5 core ones every bug carries, and 3 more that its traits from the real animal allow. Its traits are flier, stinger, predator and fast.
Venom Trail
For 8s you leave lingering venom clouds behind you that squish any head entering them.
From its stinger and predator traits.
Hyperdash
Instantly teleport 420u forward; for 0.4s only the wall can kill you.
From its fast and flier traits.
Stinger Strike
Instant jab at the nearest enemy head in front of you (160u): stunned 1.4s, slowed 50% for 3s and pushed back. Never squishes.
From its stinger trait.
Core power-ups: Nitro Wings, Molt Husks, Phase Shift, Pheromone Call, Shockwave.
How bots play it
Bots fill every seat no player is using. A bot playing the Tarantula Hawk plays it as a Hunter. Roams for prey: chases bugs up to ~57 % of its mass from further off and boosts to cut them off well ahead.
Other hunter bugs: Centipede, Stag Beetle, Dragonfly, Wolf Spider, Asian Giant Hornet.
Skins
The Tarantula Hawk has 7 skins. A skin changes only how it looks, never how it plays. See them in the full skin gallery.
Ember Tarantula Hawk
A blue-black wasp with blazing orange wings, like the real tarantula hawk.
Violet Tarantula Hawk
A dark purple wasp with lilac wings and violet trim.
Rusty Tarantula Hawk
Rust-orange spider wasp on smoky periwinkle wings, after Tachypompilus ferrugineus.
Sulphur Tarantula Hawk
Jet-black hunter on sulphur-yellow wings, after the yellow-winged Entypus and Pepsis.
Opal Tarantula Hawk
A pearl-white wasp with rose-opal wings, a sapphire sheen and a chain of sapphire diamonds.
Mistletoe Tarantula Hawk
Mistletoe-leaf green wings over a deep evergreen body, with pearl-white berries and a snowy sheen down the spine.
Goblin Tarantula Hawk
A warty goblin-green wasp with pumpkin-orange wings and a golden grin.
The real animal
The Tarantula Hawk in buggs.io is based on Pepsis grossa, and its traits come from what the real animal does. Read about it on Wikipedia.