An insectoid race destroyed by Ender Wiggin during the 3rd invasion of the Bugger War.

If humans can be said to have had ape-like ancestors, the bugger could have said to have had ant-like ancestors. Through the eons, buggers had evolved an internal skeleton, and shed their exoskeleton. Drones retained vestigial antennae and the queen retained vestigial wings. Generally, the buggers were biologically more complex and specialized than terran insects.

The bugger race supported a "hive-mind" which controlled innumerable drones. Communication between queen and drone workers was natural, instantaneous, and insensitive to distance, but probably didn't involve a "formal" language. The bugger mode of communication inspired the development of the Ansible.

Humankind first learned of the buggers during the so-called 1st i.nvasion. The buggers had set up an advance post on Eros, and proceed to "black-out" the planet using their advanced gravity manipulation technologies. Astronomers noted the phenomena which prompted an expedition to Eros. The buggers exterminated the first expedition, but later military adventures ultimately captured the installation.

The 2nd bugger i.nvasion arrived 20 years later, with the apparent intention of colonizing Terra. The war lasted 10 years, and was narrowly won through the ingenuity of a single battle commander, Mazer Rackham.

Terra spent the next 70 years on a virtual war footing preparing to repel the 3rd bugger invasion. Actually, the Interplanetary Fleet was not waiting for the buggers to return, but instead spent the time deploying an initiative against the bugger planetary system.

The key to IF's strategy was to discover a single brilliant fleet commander to lead the initiative, once the ships arrived. Decades were spent on this search as IF ships crossed the long void separating terran and bugger space. Finally, IF's search produced Ender Wiggin, who ultimately destroyed the bugger homeworld. Although considered a savior by his contemporaries, later generations charged the 11 year-old Ender with genocide.