Shine Bug

Shine Bug is a critter found naturally in the Temperate Biome, where two or three often spawn among Mealwood, Bristle Blossoms, Bluff Briar, and Muckroots. They are relatively rare in the wild, short-lived, and tend to seek out one another and nearby light sources. Their behavior makes them easy to notice near lamps or other Shine Bugs, and they may bob in response to duplicant-made lighting as if treating it like another critter.

The base Shine Bug provides illumination and a modest decor bonus of +30 in a 5 tile radius. When uncrowded, it emits light at 1800 Lux. Wild Shine Bugs are fragile: they can drown, be entombed, or killed by attack, and temperature extremes are lethal to them. In the wild, they appear to lay an egg at around 20 cycles old. When tamed and fed, they reproduce quickly at a 67% per cycle rate, making them useful as a renewable source of eggs and light.

Shine Bugs eat Bristle Berry, Gristle Berry, and Phosphorite. They will also consume Gristle Berry and Bristle Berry found lying on the ground. If fed Gristle Berry, they have an increased chance of producing Sun Nymph Eggs. Their eggs are valuable for ranching chains and for medicine production, since Sun Nymph Eggs can be used in the Apothecary to create Serum Vials, which cure Zombie Spores.

Shine Bugs have multiple variants, each changing their decor, light, diet, and breeding results. The common progression includes Sun Bugs, Royal Bugs, Coral Bugs, Azure Bugs, Abyss Bugs, Radiant Bugs, and Ionizing Bugs. The later variants generally trade light for higher decor, longer life, or specialized output:

• Sun Bugs give +50 decor in a 7 tile radius, still emit 1800 Lux, and can produce Royal Nymph Eggs when fed Fried Mushroom.
• Royal Bugs and Coral Bugs keep high decor bonuses and have altered diets and egg bias toward Coral or Azure Nymphs.
• Azure Bugs retain the same decor value and radius as Coral Bugs and can bias toward Abyss Nymph Eggs.
• Abyss Bugs no longer produce light, but have +80 decor in a 7 tile radius, live much longer, and reproduce more slowly.
• Radiant Bugs have an extremely high +200 decor bonus in an 8 tile radius and produce light in a 5 tile radius, making them excellent for decor farming.
• Ionizing Bugs produce radiation instead of light and have the least decor bonus of all variants.

Because their light and decor are both useful, Shine Bugs are often ranching targets even when egg production is not the main goal. A narrow ranch placed between high-traffic rooms can spread decor and light into surrounding areas, especially if the room is built with Window Tiles so the effects pass through the floor and ceiling. This can reduce stress in nearby mess halls, lavatories, and recreation rooms, or offset heavy decor penalties from infrastructure such as dense wiring. However, their light will disturb sleeping duplicants, so variants that do not emit light are better for barracks and bedrooms.

Shine Bugs can also be used as a compact power aid. A dense Shine Bug setup can provide enough light to power Solar Panels, and because they reproduce quickly, a seeded enclosure can sustain itself while generating a large amount of light. In Spaced Out, this can also be leveraged with Radbolt Generators for additional utility. Their radiation-emitting variant further expands their role beyond decor and illumination.

Shine Bugs multiply in:

• Slime
• Polluted Oxygen, with a strong growth bonus
• Surrounded by Polluted Water
• Growing on Slime, which provides the largest listed growth bonus

Their properties are:

• Temperature range: 10 °C to 100 °C
• Pressure range: 0 kg to 1000 kg
• Multiplies in slime and polluted oxygen
• Killed by oxygen, solid, and liquid
• Disinfected by chlorine and bleach stone

Shine Bugs remain one of the most flexible critters in the game, serving as a source of light, decor, egg products, and in some variants even radiation.