Beetle (Item)

The Beetle is an item featured in Skyward Sword.

Location
The Beetle is located in Skyview Temple. Link retrieves it after defeating a Stalfos in the central room located in the northern chamber, accessible after opening a door by pressing a nearby switch with a shot from the Slingshot.

Uses
As its name suggests, the Beetle is a small, flying, insect-like item that can be used to pick up far away objects such as Rupees or hearts, or even drop things onto foes. Any items that the Beetle picks up will be returned to Link. The Beetle can be seen grabbing a bomb and dropping it on a boulder on the gameplay trailer of Skyward Sword.

When Link uses the Beetle, the camera will switch to just behind the insect. Players will be able to steer the Beetle by just tilting the Wii remote in the desired direction; however, if the insect bumps into a wall or is hurt by an enemy, the Beetle will be knocked down and Link will be forced to re-equip it to try again, similar to how Link controls seagulls in The Wind Waker. The normal Beetle may fly for 30 seconds unless it goes too far away from Link, in which case the time will be cut short and the Beetle will return.

The Beetle is eventually upgraded in the Lanayru Desert to have a mandible so that it will be able to pick up items. An optional upgrade at the Scrap Shop in the Bazaar allows the Beetle to fly faster, and another upgrade enables it to fly much farther than before.

In the same area, the Beetle is revealed to have been created by the same company that manufactured the LD-Series robots.

Relationship to the Boomerang
As Skyward Sword is the first Zelda game since The Adventure of Link to lack the Boomerang as an item, it becomes plausible that the Beetle is an evolution of the Boomerang. A simple thought process can uncover this evolution:
 * The designers want the Boomerang to be controlled by aiming the Wii Remote.
 * The Boomerang moves too fast to be controlled reliably; it has to be slowed down.
 * The Boomerang now moves too slowly to be reasonably capable of flight. It must be turned into something else that can fly at slow speeds.

Trivia

 * Bokoblins are afraid of the Beetle and will run away from it. Those that have bows will shoot it at first sight.
 * Link can use the Beetle to kill Deku Babas by flying it through their stems.