Chimera Ant Arc Characters: King, Royal Guards & Fates

The Chimera Ant arc has a huge cast, but only a few dozen ants matter. At the top are the Queen, the King (Meruem) and his three Royal Guards: Neferpitou, Shaiapouf and Menthuthuyoupi. Below them are the Squadron Leaders and their Officers. Every ant at the top dies by the end of the arc. Most of the survivors are lower-ranked ants who surrendered, switched sides or walked away.

This list covers the whole arc: manga Chapters 186–318 and the 2011 anime’s Episodes 76–136. Episode numbers below use the 2011 anime’s overall numbering. Full spoilers ahead.

Chimera Ant ranks explained

The colony runs like an army (Ch. 194). From top to bottom:

Rank	Japanese	Role	Main members
Queen	女王	Eats prey and lays eggs; her children inherit traits of what she ate	The Queen
King	王	The Queen’s ultimate goal, born last	Meruem
Royal Guards	直属護衛軍	Three elites who serve the King, not the Queen, once he is born	Neferpitou, Shaiapouf, Menthuthuyoupi
Squadron Leaders	師団長	Commanders of the hunting squads	Colt, Peggy, Zazan, Leol, Cheetu, Bloster, Welfin, Meleoron
Officers	兵隊長	Lead small squads under a Squadron Leader	Rammot, Flutter, Ikalgo, Hina
Peons and drudges	戦闘兵・雑務兵	Rank-and-file soldiers and workers	Mostly unnamed (Koala is one)

Because this Queen fed on humans, many of her children had human memories, human egos and the ability to learn Nen. That is what made this colony so dangerous, and also what broke it apart. When Meruem tore his way out of the Queen (Ch. 213), many Squadron Leaders left the nest to become “kings” of their own (Ch. 214).

Every major Chimera Ant: abilities and fate

Ability names follow the VIZ translation. “Unnamed” means the manga never names the ability.

Rank	Ant	Nen type / abilities	Fate	Chapter (Episode)
Queen	The Queen	No Nen shown	Dies of the injuries from Meruem’s birth, after naming him “Meruem”	Ch. 215 (Ep. 92)
King	Meruem	Emission*; absorbs the aura and abilities of what he eats	Dies of the Poor Man’s Rose poison while playing Gungi with Komugi	Ch. 318 (Ep. 135–136)
Royal Guard	Neferpitou	Specialization; Doctor Blythe, Terpsichora, puppeteering corpses	Killed by the transformed Gon	Ch. 306–307 (Ep. 131)
Royal Guard	Shaiapouf	Manipulation*; Beelzebub, Spiritual Message, cocoons	Dies of the Rose poison	Ch. 314 (Ep. 135)
Royal Guard	Menthuthuyoupi	Transmutation*; unnamed shape-shifting and rage blasts	Dies of the Rose poison while talking to Welfin	Ch. 310 (Ep. 133)
Squadron Leader	Colt	Unknown	Surrenders to the Hunters; survives and raises the Queen’s last child	Ch. 215, 316
Squadron Leader	Peggy	Unknown	Killed by Meruem moments after his birth	Ch. 213 (Ep. 91)
Squadron Leader	Zazan	Manipulation*; Queen Shot	Incinerated by Feitan’s Rising Sun	Ch. 229 (Ep. 97)
Squadron Leader	Leol	Specialization*; Rental Pod	Killed by Morel with carbon dioxide	Ch. 254 (Ep. 107)
Squadron Leader	Cheetu	Conjuration*; extreme speed, Monroe Walk (name only)	Crushed by Silva Zoldyck	Ch. 278 (Ep. 117)
Squadron Leader	Bloster	Emission*; aura blasts	Survives; settles in Shidore’s village	Ch. 315
Squadron Leader	Welfin	Conjuration*; Missileman	Survives; heads to Meteor City to find Gyro	Ch. 315
Squadron Leader	Meleoron	Specialization*; Perfect Plan, God’s Accomplice	Defects to the Hunters; survives	Ch. 242, 316
Officer	Rammot	Enhancement; unnamed arm blades	Beheaded by Killua	Ch. 219 (Ep. 93–94)
Officer	Flutter	Satellitonbo, Super Eye	Killed by Knov	Ch. 246
Officer	Ikalgo	Enhancement*; Fleadom, Living Dead Dolls	Sides with Killua; survives	Ch. 316
Officer	Hina	Exorcism	Survives; travels to Meteor City	Ch. 315
Peon	Koala	Unknown	Survives; stays by Kite’s side	Ch. 337

* These Nen types are not stated in the story. They come from official guidebooks (the Hunter × Hunter Manual) or the 2022 Togashi Yoshihiro Exhibition: PUZZLE. Neferpitou (Ch. 198) and Rammot (Ch. 198) are the only ones confirmed by water divination on the page.

The Chimera Ant Royal Guards

The three Royal Guards are born with a huge amount of aura and pick up Nen almost instantly.

• Neferpitou is the first to hatch. Peggy reads Pitou’s water divination and calls Pitou a Specialist (Ch. 198). Pitou kills Kite (Ch. 199), later uses Doctor Blythe to heal Komugi, and is finally killed by Gon after Gon forces his body to grow up by giving up his future (Ch. 306–307, Episode 131). Even after death, Terpsichora keeps moving and tears off Gon’s arm (Ch. 307).
• Shaiapouf is the schemer. His scales (Spiritual Message) read emotions and hypnotize crowds, and Beelzebub lets him split into small clones. He hides Komugi from the King because he fears she is changing him.
• Menthuthuyoupi is the bruiser. He changes his body’s shape and turns his anger into raw aura. He is the only Royal Guard with no human parts, and he insists he did not exist before the Queen bore him (Ch. 310).

Only Pitou dies in a fight. Pouf and Youpi die of the Poor Man’s Rose, the bomb Netero sets off inside his own body (Ch. 298, Episodes 126–127). They pull the burnt King out of the crater and feed him their own cells to revive him, and the poison spreads to them.

Squadron Leaders and Officers

The Squadron Leaders are where the arc’s survivors come from.

• Colt is the most loyal. When Meruem’s birth leaves the Queen dying, he asks the Hunters for help, and he is with her when she dies (Ch. 213–215).
• Meleoron turns on the King after Peggy’s death brings back pieces of his human memory (Ch. 242). He joins the Extermination Team. Perfect Plan makes him undetectable while he holds his breath, and God’s Accomplice extends that to anyone he touches.
• Ikalgo is an octopus-based Officer who befriends Killua and fights alongside him.
• Welfin and Bloster stay with the King almost to the end. Welfin’s encounter with Meruem is one of the arc’s turning points: in terror, he says the word “Komugi,” and Meruem remembers her (Ch. 313).
• Zazan, Leol and Cheetu are the ants who go off to rule on their own. All three die at the hands of humans: the Phantom Troupe, Morel and Silva Zoldyck.

Which Chimera Ants survive?

Of the 18 ants in the table above, 7 survive: Colt, Bloster, Welfin, Meleoron, Ikalgo, Hina and Koala. Add Kite, who is reborn as the Queen’s last child. None of the five at the very top survive.

Group	Listed	Survived	How they died
Queen and King	2	0	Birth injuries 1, Rose poison 1
Royal Guards	3	0	Rose poison 2, Gon 1
Squadron Leaders	8	4	Meruem, Feitan, Morel, Silva
Officers and peons	5	3	Killua, Knov

The survivors share a pattern: they either surrendered (Colt), switched to the human side (Meleoron, Ikalgo), or left the King once they recovered their human selves (Welfin, Bloster, Hina). After the arc, the Hunter Association classifies the friendly ants as magical beasts so that they won’t be hunted (Ch. 316).

Kite and Komugi: the two human endings

Kite dies at Neferpitou’s hands (Ch. 199), and Pitou later uses his corpse as a puppet. He comes back as the Queen’s final child, raised by Colt. Colt calls the child “Reina,” but she insists, “My name is Kite!” (Ch. 316). In Chapter 337, Kite talks with Koala and asks him to stay with her.

Komugi, the blind Gungi champion, chooses to stay with Meruem even after he warns her that his poison is contagious (Ch. 317). He dies holding her hand (Ch. 318, Episodes 135–136), and she tells him she will join him soon. The manga doesn’t show her death on the page, but Chapter 339 (Episode 148) shows the two of them still hand in hand in the abandoned palace.

Are Chimera Ants one of the Five Calamities?

No. Chimera Ants come from the Dark Continent (Ch. 338), but they are not among the Five Calamities (also called the Five Threats). In the danger ratings published in Volume 33, Chimera Ants are rated B, below every one of the Five Calamities, which rank B+ or higher.

FAQ

Who are the Chimera Ant Royal Guards?

Neferpitou, Shaiapouf and Menthuthuyoupi. They are the three elite ants born to serve the King, Meruem, and all three die by the end of the arc.

Who killed the Chimera Ant King?

Netero lost the fight but detonated the Poor Man’s Rose inside his own body (Chapter 298). Its poison killed Meruem, who died next to Komugi in Chapter 318 (Episodes 135-136).

Which Chimera Ants survived?

Colt, Meleoron, Ikalgo, Welfin, Bloster, Hina and Koala among the named ants, plus Kite, who was reborn as the Queen’s last child. The Queen, the King and all three Royal Guards died.

Is Meleoron a Squadron Leader?

Yes. Meleoron was a Squadron Leader who defected after Peggy’s death. Ikalgo was a lower-ranked Officer in Leol’s squad.

Are Chimera Ants from the Dark Continent?

Yes, according to Ging in Chapter 338. They are rated B in the Volume 33 danger ratings, below all of the Five Calamities.

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This guide is the English edition of a BuzzBeaver article originally written in Japanese: 日本語版を読む. Facts are checked against the official manga and anime; fan theories are labeled as such.