Insecticon (G1)

The Insecticons are a Decepticon sub-faction in Generation 1 continuity.

The Insecticons are an individualistic, greedy, arrogant group of trouble makers that have an on again/off again affiliation with the Decepticons. The Insecticons also display a wide array of unique abilities including eating organic matter for energy, creating countless clones of themselves, weather control, and cerebro-shells.

=Fiction=

Animated continuity
The three Insecticons (Shrapnel, Kickback, and Bombshell) escaped from the Decepticon warship as it crashed after shooting down the Ark. Landing in a swamp, the three gained alternate modes based on local insects, and may have gained their strange abilities from a few millenia of independant evolution on a strange world.

Reunited with their Decepticon comrades in A Plague of Insecticons, the three warriors put their powers on full display, as well as their willingness to "eat and run". In future episodes, a similar theme was often followed, the Insecticons would become a part of one scheme or another, and then would betray/be betrayed by Megatron resulting in fighting between the two factions.

In Transformers: The Movie the three Insecticons find themselves battered and broken, and on the wrong end of the "weight" jettisoned from Astrotrain. All three are reformatted by Unicron into new bodies with some debate over who became who. However, in episodes durring Season 3 of the cartoon Insecticons are often seen as filler for the Decepticon Army.

Four "deluxe" Insecticons were also released at the same time, but never made appearances in the Generation 1 cartoon.

Dreamwave comics continuity
Members Are:
 * Shrapnel
 * Bombshell
 * Kickback

Deluxes:
 * Venom
 * Barrage
 * Chop Shop
 * Ransack