Fans all over the world cannot get enough ofAnimal Crossing: New Horizons, as the series has quickly become one of Nintendo’s most popular franchises. Part of the fun of the game is being able to play in so many different ways, whether that be building up the island and the player’s home, getting creative with the custom design feature, taking advantage of the Stalk Market bycreating calculators to help sell turnips at the highest price, or simply relaxing by going fishing or catching some bugs, the game allows for endless joy.
Catching bugs inAnimal Crossing: New Horizonsis a blast for many reasons, including the fact that Nintendo itself has always made collecting in games a joy. Bugs can be donated to the museum, and also can be sold for a nice price in Nook’s Cranny, which is helpful for paying off Tom Nook.
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OnceBlathers and his museum comes to the island, donating to him and seeing the collection grow over time is very neat. Additionally, the Critterpedia app on NookPhone is a helpful tool to show players what bugs they have collected thus far.
Each critter may come out during different times of day, during separate months, and even with unique criteria. Some bugs need to have situations set up for them, for example, they need to have a tree stump set up. It is possible tomiss the bugs from March, and not be able to catch them for a few months. But fear not, this list will help players plan on how to catch all of the irresistible and irritating insects moving forward.
It is also important to note that the months in which the critters are catchable depends on the hemisphere of the player, which was selected at the beginning of Animal Crossing: New Horizons. For the sake of clarity in this guide, Northern Hemisphere is marked with (N) and Southern Hemisphere is marked with (S).
Rare Bugs On The Ground
Tarantula- The Tarantula sells for 8,000 bells. It can be caught from 7pm - 4am from Apr - Nov (N) or May - Oct (S). It will also knock the player out and send them home upon pouncing on them.
Scorpion- The Scorpion sells for 8,000 bells. It can be caught from 7pm - 4am from May - Oct (N) or Nov - Apr (S). It will also knock the player out and send them home upon pouncing on them.
There is a dangerous, timely, but effective method offarming Tarantulas and Scorpions inNew Horizonsthat can help players gain tons of bells. It is a lot of fun, but be careful.
Rare Bugs On and Around Flowers
Queen Alexandra’s Birdwing- The Queen Alexandra’s Birdwing sells for 4,000 bells. It can be caught from 8am - 4pm from May - Sept (N) or Nov - Apr (S).
Rajah Brooke’s Birdwing- The Rajah Brooke’s Birdwing sells for 2,500 bells. It can be caught from 8am - 5pm from Dec - Sept (N) or Jun - Mar (S).
Peacock Butterfly- The Peacock Butterfly sells for 2,500 bells. It can be caught from 4am - 7pm from Mar - Jun (N) or Sep - Dec (S).
Orchid Mantis- The Orchid Mantis sells for 2,400 bells. It can be caught on white flowers only from 8am to 5pm from May - Nov (N) or Sep - May (S).
These rare bugs are likely to be seen when traveling to islands that are filled with flowers, or if flowers are planted on the home island.Knowing how to grow flowers inNew Horizonsis a great way to make the island look aesthetically pleasing and gain some extra bells from all the bugs that show up.
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Rare Bugs On Trees
Golden Stag- The Golden Stag sells for 12,000 bells. It can be caught on coconut trees from 5pm - 8am in Jul and Aug (N) or Jan and Feb (S).
Giraffe Stag- The Giraffe Stag sells for 12,000 bells. It can be caught on coconut trees from 5pm - 8am in Jul and Aug (N) or Jan and Feb (S).
Horned Hercules- The Horned Hercules sells for 12,000 bells. It can be on coconut trees caught from 5pm - 8am in Jul and Aug (N) or Jan and Feb (S).
Giant Stag- The Giant Stag sells for 10,000 bells. It can be caught from 11pm - 8am in Jul and Aug (N) or Jan and Feb (S).
Scarab Beetle- The Scarab Beetle sells for 10,000 bells. It can be caught from 11pm - 8am in Jul and Aug (N) or Jan and Feb (S).
Horned Elephant- The Horned Elephant sells for 8,000 bells. It can on coconut trees be caught from 5pm - 8am in Jul and Aug (N) or Jan and Feb (S).
Horned Atlas- The Horned Atlas sells for 8,000 bells. It can be caught on coconut trees from 5pm - 8am in Jul and Aug (N) or Jan and Feb (S).
Cyclommatus Stag- The Cyclommatus Stag sells for 8,000 bells. It can be caught on coconut trees from 5pm - 8am in Jul and Aug (N) or Jan and Feb (S).
Goliath Beetle- The Goliath Beetle sells for 8,000 bells. It can be caught on coconut trees from 5pm - 8am from Jun - Sep (N) or Dec - Apr (S).
Walking Stick- The Walking Stick sells for 600 bells. It can be caught from 4am - 8am & 5pm - 7pm from Jul - Nov (N) or Jan - May (S).
Violin Beetle- The Violin Beetle sells for 450 bells. It can be caught all day long from May - Nov (N) or Mar - Dec (S).
Cicada Shell- The Cicada Shell sells for 10 bells. It can be caught all day long in Jul and Aug (N) or Jan and Feb (S).
Catching loads of bugs will ware out some of the weaker nets. So having agolden net inNew Horizonswill help out a lot with cathing rare bugs.
Rare Bugs with Special Criteria
Some critters require special criteria to be caught. The following bugs are rare because players need to either set up specific situations before the bug will appear, or they need to be super aware of their surroundings to notice that the bug may be right under their nose.
Rosalia Batesi Beetle- The Rosalia Batesi Beetle sells for 3,000 bells. It can be caught all day long on tree stumps from May - Sept (N) or Nov - Mar (S). Players must use an axe to chop down trees in New Horizons. The tree will not grow back, but bugs will appear, including the rarest, the Rosalia Batesi Beetle.
Mole Cricket- The Mole Cricket sells for 500 bells. It can be caught all day long underground with a shovel from Nov - May (N) or May - Nov (S).The Mole cricket requires a shovel and some digging. There are no visual indicators for where this pesky insect is, but when the bug makes its chirping noises, players must dig up where they think they hear the noise and if they have hit the right spot, the mole cricket will pop out.
Flea- The Flea sells for 70 bells. It can be caught all day long from Apr - Nov (N) or Oct - May (S).Fleas are found on fellow-villagers inNew Horizons. Players must pay close attention to see if the tiny black creature is jumping around on a villager, if so, simply use the net to swipe it off.
Fly- The Fly sells for 60 bells. It can be caught all day long and all year round on rotten food and garbage. When fishing, players often find empty cans. Laying one out for a few days will lead to a flies deciding to roam around, as will sitting out fruit on the ground. This provides the perfect opportunity to strike with a net.
Nintendo may add more rare bugs in the future, as arumor points to a summer update coming that will add future content. But for now, there are plenty of rare critters to collect inAnimal Crossing: New Horizons.
Animal Crossing: New Horizonsis out now, exclusively for the Nintendo Switch.
