Para-Beetle

Para-Beetles (known as Parabuzzies in the Paper Mario series and Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story + Bowser Jr.'s Journey) are flying Buzzy Beetles that first appeared in Super Mario Bros. 3.

Super Mario Bros. 3 / Super Mario Advance 4: Super Mario Bros. 3
In Super Mario Bros. 3, Mario and Luigi can hop on their back for a ride, allowing them to traverse air levels and making them one of the very few enemies that cannot be defeated by jumping on them. They are immune to fireballs, but vulnerable to Raccoon Mario's tail attacks, Super Stars and hammers. They are found only in Sky Land's World 5-6, as well as in the e-reader level Para Beetle Challenge in the GBA remake.

Jumping on a stationary Para-Beetle will slightly lower it, though it will gradually rise upwards again, somewhat making a zig-zag. The mobile Para-Beetles soar quickly through the skies, forcing the player to jump from Para-Beetle to Para-Beetle. Green Para-Beetles were originally going to appear in the game (as well as in the Game Boy Advance remake), where they were shown to be faster than normal Para-Beetles.

New Super Mario Bros. Wii
Para-Beetles return in New Super Mario Bros. Wii, where they are slower and larger than they are in Super Mario Bros. 3. There is also a huge new derived species known as the Heavy Para-Beetle. If Mario steps on a regular Para-Beetle, it will start to rise to the top of the screen; if Mario jumps on a Heavy Para-Beetle, it will start to fall slowly. They only appear in World 7-6. If players jump on eight Para-Beetles consecutively without touching the ground, a 1-Up Mushroom falls from the sky.

Unused variants of Para-Beetles and Heavy Para-Beetles that fly to the right and stand still and face the screen exist in the game's files.

New Super Mario Bros. U / New Super Luigi U
Para-Beetles reappear in New Super Mario Bros. U, behaving the same as in New Super Mario Bros. Wii. They appear in the Soda Jungle level Flight of the Para-Beetles. In New Super Luigi U, they appear in Para-Beetle Parade, where they are seen carrying Piranha Plants, Big Piranha Plants, and P Switches.

Super Mario Maker / Super Mario Maker for Nintendo 3DS / Super Mario Maker 2
Para-Beetles reappear in Super Mario Maker, Super Mario Maker for Nintendo 3DS, and Super Mario Maker 2 if the player applies wings to a Buzzy Beetle; it will fly in a straight line and allow itself to be stood upon and rode like a platform, thus behaving in a similar manner. In the Super Mario World and New Super Mario Bros. U styles, Para-Beetles resemble their Paper Mario appearance; however, they still behave like they normally do in platformers. Unlike in previous games, even large Para-Beetles will ascend when stood upon.

Amada Anime Series: Super Mario Bros.
In the Super Mario anime Super Mario Momotarō, a female Para-Beetle becomes the first creature to join forces with Mario in his mission to rescue Princess Peach after Mario gives some food to the starving Para-Beetle. During the final battle, she aids Mario by knocking out Wendy O. Koopa with a powerful tackle and later using the same move on Bowser. After the final battle, she helps Mario return the treasures that Bowser had stolen back to their rightful owners. She is based off of the bird from Momotarō.

The Adventures of Super Mario Bros. 3
Para-Beetles make a couple of appearances in The Adventures of Super Mario Bros. 3, where they either fly around in numbers, acting as minions in Bowser's army as shown in "Reptiles in the Rose Garden" and "True Colors", or serve as rideable creatures for Mario, Luigi and Toad to ride on, as in the episode "7 Continents for 7 Koopas".

Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door
Para-Beetles (here known as Parabuzzies) appear in Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door. They can be found in the Pirate's Grotto and in the Pit of 100 Trials. Like other Buzzy Beetles, they have high Defense and are immune to fire attacks, and flying allows them to evade ground attacks from Mario and his party. If hit with a single jump, however, their wings will be knocked off and the Parabuzzy will become a normal Buzzy Beetle. Additionally, a fountain in Rogueport Sewers has two statues of Para-Beetles with their traditional platformer design. Unlike in their other appearances, Para-Buzzies are portrayed here as basically resembling regular Buzzies with wings.

Super Paper Mario
In Super Paper Mario, they can be found in The Overthere and Castle Bleck. They behave the same way as in their previous appearance, losing their wings and reverting to a Buzzy Beetle upon being jumped on, but as with other Buzzy Beetles, their stats are much weaker than in the previous Paper Mario games; likely due to the fact they can no longer be flipped onto their backs to bypass their Defense and make them vulnerable to attacks once grounded, instead retreating into their shells like Buzzy Beetles do in other platforming appearances.

Mario Golf: World Tour
Para-Beetles appear in Mario Golf: World Tour in the background of the Sky Island course, flying around.

Puzzle & Dragons: Super Mario Bros. Edition
In Puzzle & Dragons: Super Mario Bros. Edition, Para-Beetles are a light-attributed enemy with a high HP stat and low Attack and RCV stats, being ranked 4 out of 6 in HP and 2 out of 6 in their other stats. Their skill is Support, which cures the team of Paralysis. Their second skill is Light Boost, which raises the attack of Light attribute team members if players clear a horizontal line of light orbs. Buzzy Beetles can turn into Para-Beetles if they are given four P-Wing transformation items. If a Para-Beetle is given six Super Mushroom transformation items, it becomes a Heavy Para-Beetle.

Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga + Bowser's Minions
Para-Beetles appear in the Minion Quest: The search for Bowser mode of Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga + Bowser's Minions. Here, they are a Flying troop. Their special attack involves diving into their opponents. They are weak against ordinary Buzzy Beetles, despite Flying troops typically being strong over Melee troops.

Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story + Bowser Jr.'s Journey
Para-Beetles reappear in Bowser Jr.'s Journey, despite being absent from the original game, reprising their roles as enemies and allies.

Dr. Mario World
A Para-Beetle appears as an Assistant in Dr. Mario World. Their stage mode effect is to transform an object, mainly a virus, into a shell when the stage starts. Their versus mode effect grants a chance one of the viruses that appear is transformed into a shell when all viruses in the player's play area are eliminated. For both modes, the chance of a shell appearing is increased at higher levels, starting from 20% at the first level and ending at 100% at the maximum level.

Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga + Bowser's Minions

 * Minion Quest: The Search for Bowser profile: A veritable flying fortress. Their bodies are protected by a hard shell. Weak against their rivals, the Buzzy Beetles .

Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story + Bowser Jr.'s Journey

 * Bowser Jr.'s Journey profile: Parabuzzies are flying fortresses. They're bitter rivals with Buzzy Beetles and hate fighting against them.

Dr. Mario World

 * Stage mode: "Grants 20%/40%/60%/80%/100% chance a shell will appear on stage start."
 * Versus mode: "If all viruses in your stage are eliminated, grants 20%/40%/60%/80%/100% chance a shell will appear."

Trivia

 * Sprites found in prototype revisions of Super Mario World include sprites for Para-Beetle, but it is not included in the final game.