Hollow Knight: Silksong — How to Defeat the Ceiling Bug (Scalner) and Get Rewards

In Hollow Knight: Silksong, there are many monsters that seem invulnerable or just part of the scenery. One such creature is the Scalner, a bug that runs back and forth and spits acid. In this guide, we’ll tell you how to defeat it and what you can get as a reward for this rare bug.

Scalner lives in a long corridor connecting the Bone Hollow and Wormholes locations. It runs along the ceiling and drops a large amount of acid on the player every few seconds, dealing 2 damage. You don’t have to defeat it on your first encounter. The bug runs throughout the corridor, but if you move quickly, you can safely run past without taking damage.

To defeat this enemy, you need to hit it 40 times with the Needle if you have the first-level weapon. Doing this in the early stages is problematic and time-consuming, so it’s better to return later when you upgrade the Needle or get powerful consumables. For victory, we recommend using the Boomdushka—a bomb with huge damage and a large blast radius. You can find it in the Gloomy Marsh location by climbing the tower and turning left to a strange hut. Jump onto the wall above the hut and climb up to reach a secret workshop. For 1 unit of ore, you can permanently unlock the Boomdushka recipe.

To defeat the bug, it’s enough to hit it with all Boomdushkas in your inventory (4) and land 6 hits with a second-level Needle. Attack once when it’s reloading, then immediately hide behind a rock. Don’t try to attack frequently, and retreat if you miss or don’t have time to reach the enemy.

Despite the fact that this monster is very rare, you won’t get a new charm or a large number of beads. As a reward, the defeated enemy will drop the “Beast Shard” item, which can be dismantled in your inventory for 140 shell shards. In addition, Hornet will fill in the bug’s information in the hunter’s journal, which will be needed later for other quests.