Firebite

Firebites are nimble enemies from Donkey Kong Country Returns and Donkey Kong Country Returns 3D. As relatives of Buzzbites, they resemble short arthropods with pivotal legs which they constantly and briskly rotate in order to move along platforms, walls, and ceilings. They are drenched in flames and leave long but ephemeral trails of fire behind them. Should the Kongs get grinded by a Firebite or fall onto their flames, they lose a heart from their health meter.

The enemies are uncommon in the game, as they only reside in a single level, called Perilous Passage. Here, along with large dropping blocks, they represent stage hazards, as they might enter the scene very suddenly. The Kongs cannot succeed in defeating any of the Firebites by themselves, and the enemies would have to be skipped over whenever they are faced. Nonetheless, some of them despawn after dissolving into lava, and a single specimen even gets crushed by a dropping block.