The King Kihunter^[1] is a large insectoid encountered by Samus in the Biosphere's Biological Experiment Floor on board the Bottle Ship. It lives inside of a massive, purple hive suspended in the room's lower level, and constantly summons more Kihunters to defend the king until Samus kills it and destroys the hive. When Samus kills it, both its body and the inside surface of the hive begin to shrivel and turn grey, suggesting that the hive is in fact an extension of King Kihunter's body.

TriviaEdit

• Despite having characteristics similar to a queen of a eusocial colony (and thus female), the name suggests that the Kihunter is in fact male, making it unlikely to be the one spawning Zeros.
• The exact role of a King Kihunter is unknown, though it is possible that the Kihunters also have a Queen. This would explain why the Kihunters did not die out when they lost their king.
• The environments surrounding Spore Spawn and Nettori also shrivel up and turn into a darker color when the aforementioned creatures are defeated, quite similar to the King's death.
• According to the concept art of the Hive, there was an extended tube where Samus could enter to locate and attack the King Kihunter.[1] However, this does not happen in the game; the King Kihunter was revealed after the Hive fell and its dome broke apart.

ReferencesEdit