Bug

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Bug catching

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Bug catching
← Sea creatures	→ Fish

This article is about the catchable creature. For the game programming error, see Glitch.

Bugs
A room in the bug exhibit of the museum in Animal Crossing: New Horizons, containing various butterflies
Series total count:
93 bugs
Count by game
Doubutsu no Mori			32
Animal Crossing			40
Doubutsu no Mori e+			48
Wild World			56
City Folk			64
New Leaf			72
New Horizons			80

"I caught all the bugs! What do I do with this net now?"

— player, Animal Crossing: New Horizons

Bugs, also known as insects, are collectible creatures in the Animal Crossing series that can be caught with a net. They can be donated to the museum (much to the dismay of Blathers), sold, placed in the player's home as a piece of furniture, or, only in New Horizons, given to Flick to create models. Bugs can be found in various locations, including on and inside trees, on the ground, flying, on tree stumps, on flowers, on and underneath rocks, and on freshwater. Most bugs will be scared away if the player gets too close to them, with certain bugs (most notably rarer bugs) being scared away much more easily, requiring the player to slowly approach them with their net.

A large amount of bugs will only emerge during the summer months, and there are very few during the winter months. The most valuable bugs are the giraffe stag, golden stag, and horned hercules, which each sell for 12,000 Bells in Animal Crossing: New Horizons. In all Animal Crossing games, if the player catches every bug, they will receive a golden net, which has a larger radius than the regular net, allowing bugs to be caught more easily.

Appearances

In Doubutsu no Mori

A total of 32 types of bugs appear in Doubutsu no Mori; however, because there is no museum in the game, they can only be sold or placed as furniture.

In Doubutsu no Mori+ and Animal Crossing

A player in the bug exhibit of the museum in Animal Crossing

Eight more bugs were introduced in Doubutsu no Mori+ and later Animal Crossing, making for a total of 40. Bugs new to the series include the ant, bagworm, mosquito, mole cricket, pill bug, pond skater, snail, and spider. Additionally, bugs can now be donated to the museum. If the player catches all 40 bugs, they will be gifted a golden net by Tortimer and a butterfly ornament will appear on their house.

In Doubutsu no Mori e+

Doubutsu no Mori e+ introduces another eight bugs to the series, including the coconut crab, crab, diving beetle, dung beetle, flea, hercules beetle (later known as the horned hercules), hermit crab, and Alexandra's swallowtail butterfly.

In Wild World

Nineteen more bugs make their first appearance in Animal Crossing: Wild World, while eleven do not return from Doubutsu no Mori e+, making for a total of 56. Bugs new to the series include the agrias butterfly, atlas beetle, elephant beetle, emperor, fly, fruit beetle, goliath beetle, honeybee, lantern fly, monarch, moth, oak silk moth, peacock, rainbow stag, scarab beetle, scorpion, tarantula, and walkingstick. Bugs that did not return from the previous game include the bagworm, common dragonfly, coconut crab, crab, diving beetle, drone beetle, hermit crab, ladybug (not to be confused with the spotted ladybug, which does return and is renamed to ladybug), mountain beetle, pine cricket, and purple butterfly. Additionally, Alexandra's swallowtail butterfly has been given the localized name birdwing, and the flat stag beetle has been renamed simply to stag beetle. Like in the previous games, if the player catches all 56 bugs, they will be gifted a golden net by Tortimer.

A bug-catching event known as the Bug-Off is introduced in Wild World, occurring on the third Sunday of June, July, August, and September. During the event players are tasked with catching bugs and bringing them to Tortimer, the host of the event, who will score them based on size and rarity. The ultimate goal is to obtain a higher score than the competing villagers before the event ends at 6:00 PM. If the player reaches third, second, or first place, they will receive a bronze, silver, or gold trophy respectively.

In City Folk

Nat during a Bug-Off in City Folk

Eight more bugs make their debut in Animal Crossing: City Folk, with two not returning from Wild World and two returning from Doubutsu no Mori e+, making for a total of 64. Bugs new to the series include the centipede, cyclommatus, golden stag, miyama stag, giant petaltail, Raja Brooke butterfly, violin beetle, and walking leaf. The bagworm, diving beetle, and mountain beetle (renamed to miyama stag) return after being absent from Wild World, while the cockroach and stag beetle do not return from Wild World. Like in the previous games, if the player catches all 64 bugs, they will be gifted a golden net by Tortimer.

The Bug-Off returns from Wild World and is largely unchanged aside from it now being hosted by Nat and occurring on the third Saturday of June, July, August, and September.

In New Leaf

The bug section of the encyclopedia in New Leaf

All 64 bugs from City Folk return in Animal Crossing: New Leaf, along with seven new bugs, and one, the hermit crab, returning from Doubutsu no Mori e+, making for a total of 72 bugs. The bugs introduced in New Leaf are the cicada shell, giant cicada, rice grasshopper, stinkbug, tiger beetle, and wharf roach. Additionally, the following bugs had their names changed since City Folk:

• atlas beetle → horned atlas
• birdwing → birdwing butterfly
• cyclommatus → cyclommatus stag
• elephant beetle → horned elephant
• emperor → emperor butterfly
• hercules beetle → horned hercules
• peacock → peacock butterfly
• walkingstick → walking stick.

The Bug-Off once again returns and is identical to City Folk aside from new prizes, items from the Insect Set. If the player speaks to Nat during a Bug-Off after catching all 72 bugs, he will reward them with the golden net.

In New Horizons

The bug section of the Critterpedia in New Horizons

Animal Crossing: New Horizons introduces eleven new bugs to the series, with five not returning from New Leaf and one, the purple butterfly (renamed to great purple emperor) returning from Doubutsu no Mori e+, for a total of 80 bugs. Bugs new to the series include the Atlas moth, blue weevil beetle, damselfly, earth-boring dung beetle, giant water bug, giraffe stag, Madagascan sunset moth, man-faced stink bug, paper kite butterfly, and rosalia batesi beetle. The bugs that have not returned from New Leaf are the fruit beetle, house centipede, lantern fly, oak silk moth, and petaltail dragonfly. Additionally, the bee has been renamed to wasp, the birdwing butterfly to Queen Alexandra's birdwing, and Rajah Brooke butterfly to Rajah Brooke's birdwing. If the player catches all 80 bugs, they will be sent a letter from the Farway Museum containing the golden net DIY recipe.

A special character introduced in Animal Crossing: New Horizons is Flick, a visitor who can create models of bugs in exchange for three of a specific bug. He can also purchase bugs from the player for 1.5× their regular selling price.

Flick is now the host of the Bug-Off, which has been overhauled since New Leaf. Players are now tasked with catching as many bugs as possible within three minutes, which can be repeated until the end of the event. Flick will reward the player with points based on how many bugs are caught per round, which can be exchanged for bug-themed furniture, clothing, or tools. Additionally, bugs can be sold to Flick during a Bug-Off for his usual 1.5× bonus.

List of bugs

The following is a list of every bug in the Animal Crossing series and each game they appeared in.

Bugs in the Animal Crossing series
Name	Image	Game
		DnM	DnM+/AC	DnMe+	ACWW	ACCF	ACNL	ACNH
Banded dragonfly		DnM	AC	DnMe+	ACWW	ACCF	ACNL	ACNH
Bell cricket		DnM	AC	DnMe+	ACWW	ACCF	ACNL	ACNH
Brown cicada		DnM	AC	DnMe+	ACWW	ACCF	ACNL	ACNH
Citrus long-horned beetle		DnM	AC	DnMe+	ACWW	ACCF	ACNL	ACNH
Cockroach		DnM	AC	DnMe+	ACWW
Common butterfly		DnM	AC	DnMe+	ACWW	ACCF	ACNL	ACNH
Cricket		DnM	AC	DnMe+	ACWW	ACCF	ACNL	ACNH
Darner dragonfly		DnM	AC	DnMe+	ACWW	ACCF	ACNL	ACNH
Drone beetle		DnM	AC	DnMe+				ACNH
Evening cicada		DnM	AC	DnMe+	ACWW	ACCF	ACNL	ACNH
Firefly		DnM	AC	DnMe+	ACWW	ACCF	ACNL	ACNH
Giant stag		DnM	AC	DnMe+	ACWW	ACCF	ACNL	ACNH
Grasshopper		DnM	AC	DnMe+	ACWW	ACCF	ACNL	ACNH
Great purple emperor		DnM	AC	DnMe+				ACNH
Greater blue skimmer		DnM	AC	DnMe+
Horned dynastid		DnM	AC	DnMe+	ACWW	ACCF	ACNL	ACNH
Jewel beetle		DnM	AC	DnMe+	ACWW	ACCF	ACNL	ACNH
Ladybug		DnM	AC	DnMe+
Long locust		DnM	AC	DnMe+	ACWW	ACCF	ACNL	ACNH
Mantis		DnM	AC	DnMe+	ACWW	ACCF	ACNL	ACNH
Migratory locust		DnM	AC	DnMe+	ACWW	ACCF	ACNL	ACNH
Miyama stag		DnM	AC	DnMe+		ACCF	ACNL	ACNH
Pine cricket		DnM	AC	DnMe+
Red dragonfly		DnM	AC	DnMe+	ACWW	ACCF	ACNL	ACNH
Robust cicada		DnM	AC	DnMe+	ACWW	ACCF	ACNL	ACNH
Saw stag		DnM	AC	DnMe+	ACWW	ACCF	ACNL	ACNH
Stag beetle		DnM	AC	DnMe+	ACWW
Tiger butterfly		DnM	AC	DnMe+	ACWW	ACCF	ACNL	ACNH
Walker cicada		DnM	AC	DnMe+	ACWW	ACCF	ACNL	ACNH
Wasp		DnM	AC	DnMe+	ACWW	ACCF	ACNL	ACNH
Yellow butterfly		DnM	AC	DnMe+	ACWW	ACCF	ACNL	ACNH
Ant			AC	DnMe+	ACWW	ACCF	ACNL	ACNH
Bagworm			AC	DnMe+		ACCF	ACNL	ACNH
Mole cricket			AC	DnMe+	ACWW	ACCF	ACNL	ACNH
Mosquito			AC	DnMe+	ACWW	ACCF	ACNL	ACNH
Pill bug			AC	DnMe+	ACWW	ACCF	ACNL	ACNH
Pondskater			AC	DnMe+	ACWW	ACCF	ACNL	ACNH
Snail			AC	DnMe+	ACWW	ACCF	ACNL	ACNH
Spider			AC	DnMe+	ACWW	ACCF	ACNL	ACNH
Coconut crab				DnMe+
Crab				DnMe+
Diving beetle				DnMe+		ACCF	ACNL	ACNH
Dung beetle				DnMe+	ACWW	ACCF	ACNL	ACNH
Flea				DnMe+	ACWW	ACCF	ACNL	ACNH
Hermit crab				DnMe+			ACNL	ACNH
Horned hercules				DnMe+	ACWW	ACCF	ACNL	ACNH
Queen Alexandra's birdwing				DnMe+	ACWW	ACCF	ACNL	ACNH
Agrias butterfly					ACWW	ACCF	ACNL	ACNH
Emperor butterfly					ACWW	ACCF	ACNL	ACNH
Fly					ACWW	ACCF	ACNL	ACNH
Fruit beetle					ACWW	ACCF	ACNL
Goliath beetle					ACWW	ACCF	ACNL	ACNH
Honeybee					ACWW	ACCF	ACNL	ACNH
Horned atlas					ACWW	ACCF	ACNL	ACNH
Horned elephant					ACWW	ACCF	ACNL	ACNH
Lantern fly					ACWW	ACCF	ACNL
Monarch butterfly					ACWW	ACCF	ACNL	ACNH
Moth					ACWW	ACCF	ACNL	ACNH
Oak silk moth					ACWW	ACCF	ACNL
Orchid mantis					ACWW	ACCF	ACNL	ACNH
Peacock butterfly					ACWW	ACCF	ACNL	ACNH
Rainbow stag					ACWW	ACCF	ACNL	ACNH
Scarab beetle					ACWW	ACCF	ACNL	ACNH
Scorpion					ACWW	ACCF	ACNL	ACNH
Tarantula					ACWW	ACCF	ACNL	ACNH
Walking stick					ACWW	ACCF	ACNL	ACNH
Centipede						ACCF	ACNL	ACNH
Cyclommatus stag						ACCF	ACNL	ACNH
Golden stag						ACCF	ACNL	ACNH
Petaltail dragonfly						ACCF	ACNL
Rajah Brooke's birdwing						ACCF	ACNL	ACNH
Violin beetle						ACCF	ACNL	ACNH
Walking leaf						ACCF	ACNL	ACNH
Cicada shell							ACNL	ACNH
Giant cicada							ACNL	ACNH
House centipede							ACNL
Rice grasshopper							ACNL	ACNH
Stinkbug							ACNL	ACNH
Tiger beetle							ACNL	ACNH
Wharf roach							ACNL	ACNH
Atlas moth								ACNH
Blue weevil beetle								ACNH
Common bluebottle								ACNH
Damselfly								ACNH
Earth-boring dung beetle								ACNH
Giant water bug								ACNH
Giraffe stag								ACNH
Madagascan sunset moth								ACNH
Man-faced stink bug								ACNH
Paper kite butterfly								ACNH
Rosalia batesi beetle								ACNH

Availability

Jan

Feb

Mar

Apr

May

Jun

Jul

Aug

Sep

Oct

Nov

Dec

Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun
Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec

Trivia

• In November 2021, Nintendo revealed in a fourth-anniversary tweet for Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp that a total of 16.8 billion bugs had been caught by all players combined between the game's launch and its fourth anniversary.

References

To-do list: This page could do with some improvements!

Edit this page and add a little something to make it just right.

• Add info on bugs' appearances in spin-offs (Pocket Camp, Happy Home Designer, etc.)

To-do list: This page could do with some improvements!

Edit this page and add a little something to make it just right.

• Add info on bugs' appearances in spin-offs (Pocket Camp, Happy Home Designer, etc.)