Buzzbee
First appearance	Green House (1982, overall) Donkey Kong 3 (1983,Super Mario franchise)
Latest appearance	Arcade Archives: Donkey Kong 3 (2019)
Variants Beespy Super Bee
Relatives Butterfly
Comparable Bunbun

Buzzbees^[1][2] (orBuzz bees),^[3] also referred to simply asbees,^[4] are insect-like enemies that appear inDonkey Kong 3. They are the primary units of thebeehives inStanley's greenhouse. They attack by either throwing spears or swooping down from their hives, trying to steal Stanley'sflowers. In theFamily Computer andNintendo Entertainment System version, Buzzbees only throw darts when they are carrying a flower. In the arcade version, Buzzbees feed the flowers toDonkey Kong to becomeSuper Bees. In the Famicom and NES version, Buzzbees carry the flower to their beehive and disappear. One or two will sometimes escortBeespies, where they are referred to asGuards.^[5] From round 12 (9 in the Famicom and NES version), their appearance is altered. The new Buzzbees are more aggressive and do not escort Beespies.

While unnamed, a Buzzbee first appears inGreen House for theGame & Watch, poking a cat as the game's alarm.

InDonkey Kong 3: Dai Gyakushū, Buzzbees fly around in formation, throwing spears and swooping down at Stanley directly. Since there are now flowers, here, they primarily block Stanley's own shots from hittingDonkey Kong. In addition, if a Buzzbee is hit, it transforms into a Super Bee. Only one formation of Buzzbees and Super Bees may exist at a time, and Super Bees count for the Buzzbee formation they are a part of. By shooting down an entire formation of Buzzbees and Super Flies without one cycling off-screen, aFlag will spawn. In the bonus rounds, a long formation of Buzzbees will fly around the screen, not throwing spears nor diving at Stanley; Stanley must shoot all the Buzzbees and the resulting Super Bees before the timer runs out. Shooting a Buzzbee is worth 10 points. The design of the Buzzbee itself is based on earlier rounds from the arcade game.

Buzzbees reappear in theDonkey Kong 3 Game & Watch, where they are simply called "bees." Stanley andDonkey Kong use their sprayers to force the bees to sting each other. One version of theNorth American box artMedia:DK3 G&W pocketsize.jpg gives them a less fuzzy appearance.

Gallery[edit]

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  Buzzbee alarming the cat

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  Stanley, fighting a Buzzbee

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  Artwork of Buzzbee and a flower

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  Buzzbee before round 12 (arcade)

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  Buzzbee after round 12 (arcade)

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  Buzzbee before round 9 (NES)

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  Buzzbee after round 9 (NES)

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  Donkey Kong 3: Dai Gyakushū

Names in other languages[edit]

Notes[edit]

• Buzzbees greatly resemble the unnamed stinger-wielding bee enemy fromVS. Ice Climber. In theDisk System version, this enemy is replaced with a Nitpicker.

References[edit]

• Bees
• Children
• Donkey Kong 3 enemies
• Donkey Kong 3: Dai Gyakushū enemies
• Greenhouse