Silksong's Insect Identity: Mapping Pharloom's Cast to Real-World Bugs

Since Hollow Knight first invited players into Hallownest, Team Cherry has used the insect kingdom as both aesthetic and narrative engine. By 2026, Hollow Knight: Silksong has had time to settle into the broader metroidvania canon, and its cast remains one of the richest subjects for speculation. The game's creatures range from sentient, speaking bugs to savage beasts, and their designs draw on some of the most beautiful and horrifying real-world arthropods. The following analysis is not official taxonomy. It is a descriptive, fan-led attempt to identify the bugs behind the voices and silhouettes of Pharloom. 🐛

Hornet — The Bald-Faced Hornet

Hornet is the most obvious candidate for a name-first identification, but the name alone does not define her. She is a sentient, agile protector with a red cloak, needle, and silken threads. Yet when her silhouette is compared with a bald-faced hornet, the resemblance becomes harder to dismiss. The bald-faced hornet has a dark body and stark white markings on its face. Dress one in a light red robe, and the visual argument writes itself. The parallel is not perfect, because Hornet is a character with agency, dialogue, and a complex role across Hollow Knight and Silksong, while the real insect is a colonial hymenopteran. Still, the sharp waist, predatory posture, and warning coloration make the bald-faced hornet a compelling inspiration.

Shakra — The Paper Wasp

Shakra is a fan-favorite for many reasons. She looks cool, occasionally joins combat, sells maps, and sings in a hauntingly lovely voice. Compared with Hornet, Shakra is taller, larger, and lighter in palette. Her design shares similarities with the paper wasp. The insect's sand-like yellow coloration echoes Shakra's own tones, and the paper wasp is native to India, where the concepts of chakra and chakram originated. That cultural and visual overlap gives the comparison extra weight. Shakra may be a wandering merchant and warrior, but her polished carapace and calm confidence read as vespid. 🐝

Bell Beast — The Isopod

In stark contrast to the talkative Stag of Hollow Knight, the Bell Beast is a beast, and a tough one at that. After being tamed through battle, it becomes a loyal companion willing to carry Hornet across Pharloom. It is one of the more distinct bugs in the game, and its isopod inspiration seems relatively clear. Isopods are terrestrial crustaceans with segmented, armored bodies and many legs. Fossil and modern examples include large, shelled forms. Place an image of the Bell Beast beside one, and the connection becomes solid. The Bell Beast's rolling gait and defensive shell reinforce the isopod read, even if the creature is scaled up to mount size. 🐚

Forge Daughter — The Darkling Beetle

After hiking through several maps, players eventually meet the Forge Daughter, a one-stop shop for crafting. She is large and polite, but all business as she looms over Hornet and hammers at her forge. Most of her distinguishing features are covered, which makes identification tricky. A darkling beetle is a strong possibility. These beetles can grow large and round, with thick shells. A forge worker would need a sturdy exoskeleton for protection against heat, sparks, and heavy tools. The Forge Daughter's bulky silhouette and patient, deliberate movements fit the darkling beetle profile better than a slimmer, more aggressive insect would. 🔨

Nuu — The Rotund Disc Snail

Instead of the mysterious six-eyed creature living in the bushes, Silksong introduces Nuu as the Hunter expert. She gives Hornet the Hunter's Journal and tasks her with hunting and cataloging all the bugs of Pharloom. At first glance, Nuu is evidently a snail: eye stalks, a soft body, and a backpack-shell that she can remove at will. Real snails cannot remove their shells, but the Rotund Disc Snail is notable for a giant round shell and for poking only a little of its head through the opening. That image strongly resembles Nuu's shy but observant posture. As a gastropod, Nuu also fits the game's broader interest in mollusks alongside insects. 🐌

Lace — The Termite

Of all the bugs on this list, Lace is the most difficult to identify. She serves as Silksong's recurring antagonist, and Hornet must fight her more than once. Her main characteristics are her white color, large head, and affinity for music. There may not be a strong physical resemblance to any single insect, but there is a particular link between Lace and the termite. Termites are white insects larger than ants, with large heads and jaws meant to chew through wood. More interestingly, termites respond to sound and music in ways that affect their behavior. Since Hornet first encounters Lace in a seemingly conducting pose, the termite connection becomes more plausible. It is a speculative but evocative match. 🎼

Sherma — The Aphid

While there may not yet be a cutest characters in Silksong list, Sherma would be a top contender. She is stumped early on by a locked door and believes with all her heart that everything can be solved with a positive attitude and a happy tune. Like other characters in Silksong, Sherma may not have many distinguishing physical characteristics, but one bug fits her bill: the aphid. These tiny, round bugs thrive in many places, much like Sherma seems able to do. They generally have round heads on round bodies, with a variety of greys coating their bodies. Sherma's soft, harmless presence and persistent optimism mirror the aphid's quiet resilience. 🌼

Carmelita — The Hunting Wasp

Of all the bosses in Silksong, Carmelita is one that players look forward to fighting the moment they see an image of her. Such elegance and grace give way to a fast and vicious hunter, which is the least one can expect from the Huntress Queen. Since she shares some design aspects with Hornet and Shakra, it makes sense to look again at hornets and wasps. The hunting wasp is an obvious but effective choice. There is a range of these insects, but they specialize in hunting one prey or another and attack when the moment is right. Combined with their sleek bodies and sharp movements, they would inspire Carmelita's deadly poise. ⚔️

Quick Reference Table

None of these identifications are official. Team Cherry's designs are often chimeras, blending multiple arthropods with narrative symbolism. That ambiguity is part of the appeal. In 2026, with Silksong's world still being dissected by players, these comparisons offer a richer way to appreciate Pharloom's ecology. Whether Hornet is truly a bald-faced hornet or simply a warrior named after one, the insect kingdom remains the game's most fascinating character sheet. 🦋

Plenty of players come away from Silksong with a renewed curiosity about the real insects behind the cast, and that curiosity often spills over into exploring the wider metroidvania catalogue available on PC. Between Hollow Knight, its sequel, and the many indie titles that share its hand-drawn aesthetic and challenging combat, there's no shortage of worlds to get lost in once Pharloom has been mapped from top to bottom.

Keeping up with those titles without overspending usually means waiting for the right discount, which is where a steam sale tracker like DealNest earns its keep. Instead of refreshing store pages by hand, you can let DealNest monitor price drops across Steam and flag the moment a wishlisted metroidvania, or any other bug-themed adventure, finally falls within budget.