Zinger

Zingers are large wasp-like creatures and Donkey Kong's most persistent foes, next to the Kremlings.

History
The first appearance of Zingers is in Donkey Kong Country. In this game, Zingers, along with Neckys, Gnawtys and Slippas were one of the most common enemies in the game. Zingers often acted as obstacles in this game, blocking the path of Diddy and Donkey Kong. Since the wasp has spikes covering all of its body, a Zinger could not be jumped on. The Kongs would need to throw an object at a Zinger (such as a barrel) or employ the use of an Animal Buddy to defeat the baddie. The color of a Zinger is a clue to its flight pattern; they'll either fly vertically, horizontally, in a circular path, or in a U-shaped path. In the game, an apparent 'queen' Zinger is fought as a boss, Queen B. Zingers are also in Donkey Kong Country ' s pseudo-sequel Donkey Kong Land.

A Zinger appears in the Club Nintendo comic "Donkey Kong Country" as an enemy of Donkey and Diddy Kong. However, it does not attack the pair until Donkey Kong swears at the wasp. Ultimately Donkey defeats the Zinger (which, like every enemy in the comic, is able to speak) by doing a special rolling move and then kicking the enemy. When defeated, the Zinger claims that its stinger is deformed.

Zingers also appear in Donkey Kong Country ' s "true" sequel Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest. They are found in a majority of the levels in this game, except those taking place underwater. This time Zingers only came in two colors, the standard yellow variety, and the red variety (which were completely invincible). Also in this game, Diddy and Dixie meet an apparent 'king' Zinger, King Zing. Also of note, Crocodile Isle, the location where the events of Donkey Kong Country 2 takes place, has several Zinger hives on it, mostly in the region known as Krazy Kremland. This indicates that Crocodile Isle may be the ancestral home of the Zingers, and explains the large amount of Zingers in the game. Zingers also appear in Donkey Kong Land 2.

Zingers did not appear in Donkey Kong Country 3: Dixie Kong's Double Trouble or Donkey Kong Land III. They were replaced by a similar enemy, the robotic bees named Buzzes. Zingers returned in Donkey Kong 64. In this game they are less common than in previous titles and are easier to defeat. The Kongs can simply blast the wasp with one of the weapons they can purchase from Funky Kong. Additionally, a new type of Zinger appears, a robotic variety. These "Mecha-Zingers" are found prominently in the level Frantic Factory. They are also more difficult to defeat, presumably due to being made of metal.

Zingers also appear in Donkey Konga and as enemies in DK: King of Swing. Furthermore, Zingers appear as enemies in DK: King of Swing ' s sequel DK Jungle Climber. Some early promotional material showed that Zingers were going to be ride-able in the now canceled game Donkey Kong Racing. In Donkey Kong Barrel Blast Zingers appear as obstacles. In Super Smash Bros. Brawl, a Zinger appears as a sticker. It raises resistance to slashing attacks (such as Link's sword) by five points.

Notable Zingers

 * Queen B. – Donkey Kong Country
 * King Zing – Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest

Trivia

 * According to the game's credits, Zingers belong to the "Lazy Landlubbers" enemy class.
 * Zingers slightly resemble the conjecturally named Bee'zerks, a bee species from the Mario series, who in turn resemble Stingers
 * In the Donkey Kong Country television series, there are bees in the episode "Buried Treasure" that resemble Zingers.