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Animal Crossing Bugs list: All bug prices, locations, and how to catch rare bugs explained

All bugs you can catch in Animal Crossing - and where to find them.

Bug catching is a crucial activity in Animal Crossing: New Horizons. Not only does it help you complete the Museum, but it's also a great way to earn some bells if you manage to catch some rare bugs.

You can also unlock the DIY recipe for the Golden Net by catching every bug in New Horizons. Quite the task, but a worth reward!

Like fish and other aspects of the game, many of the bugs that appear on your island are seasonal, which means that different bugs will appear on your island depending on what month it is.

This Animal Crossing bug list focuses on the Northern Hemisphere for the times of the year insects come and go, but if you want a condensed look at the weeks ahead, we have a dedicated new fish and insects arriving and leaving this month page.

On this page:

Cover image for YouTube videoAnimal Crossing: New Horizons - Our Best Tips and Tricks for Getting Started

How to increase your chances of catching bugs in Animal Crossing: New Horizons

Like with fishing, the basics of catching bugs in New Horizons is pretty simple.

First you need to craft a Net, then head out exploring on your island. It won't be long before you find a bug and, once you have, you're left with two choices.

The first is to simply walk up to the bug and swing your net in an attempt to catch it. This is a good approach for bugs that move quite quickly, like butterflies, or ones that are less likely to run away, like bagworms. Yet, it does run the risk of altering the bug to your presence and making it fly away.

If you want to ensure that your prey doesn't flee, you need to take the second, far sneakier, approach to bug hunting.

When you spot the bug you wish to catch hold down the A button. This will allow you to slowly creep you to the bug and capture it, before it manages to escape.

Sneaking up on bugs might take a bit of practice, because certain bugs, like Tarantulas, have the ability to spot you and prevent you from catching them.

Once you've mastered the basics of bug catching, it's time to grab your net and start filling in the entries in your Critterpedia. Below you'll find some more tips to help you catch them all:

  • If you're out bug hunting then it's a good idea to walk, not run. It's easier for bugs to notice you if you're running, which will allow them to escape.
  • A lot of bugs, especially butterflies, are attracted to Flowers. For this reason, it's a good idea to set up a couple of flower gardens across your island. This way you can quickly visit and see if there are any rare bugs for you to catch. Also, the rarer the colour, the more likely rare insects will appear there.
  • Like with fish, certain bugs are weather dependent. Snails, for example, will only appear on rocks when it's raining.
  • Unlike fish, bugs can appear anywhere across your island. This means your Vaulting Pole and Ladder are essential tools on any good bug hunt. You don't want to lose out on catching a rare butterfly, especially when it flies up a cliff or across a river.
  • Keep not only your eyes peeled but your ears sharp, as you never know what activity might reveal a new bug. You might be harvesting Iron Nuggets from a rock or simply walking around when you see or hear the sign of a new bug.
  • Certain bugs require special items or actions to be completed to allow you to either catch them or have them appear. Wasps, for example, will only appear if a wasp nest falls from a tree when you're shaking or chopping, while flies can only appear if you leave a piece of trash on the ground. Our bug list at the end of this page explains their various sources, but if you don't want them spoilt for you, it's worth experimenting with things which might attract them in real life. Bugs can appear in all sorts of ways!

The Animal Crossing 2.0 update and Happy Home Paradise is here! We can help you with the new additions - including where to find Brewster, Gyroids, new villagers, ordinances, new fences, storage shed, new hairstyles, Froggy Chair, group stretching and Kapp'n boat tours. Cooking is now unlockable, so you need to know how to make both flour and sugar, as well as how to grow carrots, potatoes and tomatoes. Meanwhile, if you're new to Animal Crossing, our New Horizons tips can help with the basics. From the off, there's fish and bugs to catch, flowers and fruit to grow with. One long term goal is building your Happy Home Academy score. Finally, you need tools such as the new ladder and vaulting pole to fully explore.


How to catch rare bugs and the best bug prices in Animal Crossing: New Horizons explained

Catching rare bugs in New Horizons is a great way to earn some bells, especially if you're close to paying off one of your many mortgages.

Yet, as the word rare implies, these bugs can be very hard to catch; you need to be light of foot and swift of hand to catch many of these. You'll also want lady luck to be on your side, because, due to their rarity, these bugs have a low appearance rate.

You can, however, create your own luck by scaring away the bugs you don't want to catch. Every island can only hold a certain number of bugs at one time; catching or scaring away bugs will cause new ones to spawn, some of which might be the bugs you're looking for.

It should be noted that there are more lucrative money making methods in New Horizons, such as selling selling Turnips.

Still, it's always a good idea to catch a rare bug when you see it - those extra bells won't hurt.

Below you'll find our recommendations for which bugs you should focus on catching in New Horizons:

Orchid Mantis (bug price - 2,400 bells) - Orchid Mantis will appear on flowers between the months of March to November from 8am to 5pm. Thanks to their pink colouring, they should stand out easily from the flowers. Still, always make sure you sneak up on them or else they'll make a quick escape.

Peacock Butterfly (bug price - 2,500 bells) - Peacock Butterflies will visit your island from March to the end of June and will appear between the hours of 4am to 7pm. If you're having trouble finding these butterflies, ask a friend to send you some seeds from their island, because, the rarer the flower, the more likely these butterflies will appear.

Wasp (bug price - 2,500 bells) - no matter the month, no matter the time, there's always a chance that you'll find a wasps nest in New Horizons. All you have to do is keep shaking those trees and eventually one will fall, bringing the wrath of the wasp down upon you. Catching a wasp is the hard part - it relies on quick reactions and not accidentally running into any trees.

If you need more help regarding wasps, check out our dedicated wasp page.

Tarantula (bug price - 8,000 bells) - Tarantulas can appear anywhere on your island from the beginning of November till the end of April between 7pm to 4am. If you've already heard of the fabled Tarantula Island, then you already know that catching these spiders is one of the best ways to make a lot of money very quickly. Just make sure you pay close attention to the tarantula you're trying to catch.

If you're having trouble catching tarantulas, check out our dedicated tarantula page.

Animal Crossing: New Horizons Bugs and their prices list

Here is a list of all the bugs in Animal Crossing: New Horizons, as well as their spawning conditions and other behaviours to be aware of.

Remember, bugs will come in and out of rotation throughout the year, so it's impossible to get everything at any given time. If you're hoping to get them all and want to see what's urgent - the things about to leave, and what's appearing - our dedicated new fish and insects arriving this month page can help you see these at a glance.

It should be noted that the following months are for the northern hemisphere. If your island is in the southern hemisphere, then each set of dates will differ by six months.

Here are all bugs in Animal Crossing: New Horizons, in the order they appear in the Critterpedia:

Animal Crossing BugsMonths available Times available LocationBug Price
Common ButterflySeptember to June (Northern hemisphere)
March to December (Southern hemisphere)
4am to 7pm Flying around160
Yellow ButterflyMarch to June / September to October (Northern hemisphere)
March to April / September to December (Southern hemisphere)
4am to 7pmFlying around160
Tiger ButterflyMarch to September (Northern hemisphere)
September to March (Southern hemisphere)
4am to 7pmFlying around240
Peacock ButterflyMarch to June (Northern hemisphere)
September to December (Southern hemisphere)
4am to 7pmFlying around flowers2500
Common BluebottleApril to August (Northern hemisphere)
October to February (Southern hemisphere)
8am to 4pm Flying around300
Paper Kite ButterflyAll year round8am to 7pmFlying around1000
Great Purple EmperorMay to August (Northern hemisphere)
November to February (Southern hemisphere)
4am to 7pmFlying around3000
Monarch ButterflySeptember to November (Northern hemisphere)
March to May (Southern hemisphere)
4am to 5pmFlying around140
Emperor ButterflyDecember to March / June to September (Northern hemisphere)
December to March / June to September (Southern hemisphere)
5pm to 8amFlying around flowers4000
Agrias ButterflyApril to September (Northern hemisphere)
November to March (Southern hemisphere)
8am to 5pmFlying around3000
Rajah Brooke's BirdwingApril to September / December to February (Northern hemisphere)
November to March / June to August (Southern hemisphere)
8am to 5pmFlying around2500
Queen Alexandra's BirdwingMay to September (Northern hemisphere)
November to March (Southern hemisphere)
8am to 4pmFlying around4000
MothAll year round7pm to 4amFlying around a lightsource130
Atlas MothApril to September (Northern hemisphere)
October to March (Southern hemisphere)
7pm to 4amOn trees3000
Madagascan-Sunset MothApril to September (Northern hemisphere)
October to March (Southern hemisphere)
8am to 4pmFlying around flowers2500
Long LocustApril to November (Northern hemisphere)
November to May (Southern hemisphere)
8am to 7pmOn the ground200
Migratory LocustAugust to November (Northern hemisphere) / February to May (Southern hemisphere) 8am to 7pmOn the ground600
Rice GrasshopperAugust to November (Northern hemisphere) / February to May (Southern hemisphere) 8am to 7pmOn the ground400
GrasshopperJuly to September (Northern hemisphere)
January to March (Southern hemisphere)
8am to 5pmOn the ground160
CricketSeptember to November (Northern hemisphere)
March to May (Southern hemisphere)
5pm to 8amOn the ground130
Bell CricketSeptember to October (Northern hemisphere)
March to April (Southern hemisphere)
5pm to 8amOn the ground 430
MantisMarch to November (Northern hemisphere)
September to May (Southern hemisphere)
8am to 5pmOn flowers430
Orchid MantisMarch to November (Northern hemisphere)
September to May (Southern hemisphere)
8am to 5pm On flowers2400
HoneybeeMarch to July (Northern hemisphere)
September to January (Southern hemisphere)
8am to 5pmFlying around flowers200
WaspAll year roundAll dayShake trees till a wasp nest falls, then catch them before they sting you2500
Brown CicadaJuly to August (Northern hemisphere)
January to February (Southern hemisphere)
8am to 5pmOn trees250
Robust CicadaJuly to August (Northern hemisphere)
January to February (Southern hemisphere)
8am to 5pmOn trees300
Giant CicadaJuly to August (Northern hemisphere)
January to February (Southern hemisphere)
8am to 5pmOn trees500
Walker CicadaAugust to September (Northern hemisphere)
February to March (Southern hemisphere)
8am to 5pmOn trees400
Evening CicadaJuly to August (Northern hemisphere)
January to February (Southern hemisphere)
4am to 8am
4pm to 7pm
On trees550
Cicada ShellJuly to August (Northern hemisphere)
January to February (Southern hemisphere)
All dayOn trees10
Red DragonflySeptember to October (Northern hemisphere)
March to April (Southern hemisphere)
8am to 7pmFlying around180
Darner DragonflyApril to October (Northern hemisphere)
March to April (Southern hemisphere)
8am to 5pmFlying around230
Banded DragonflyMay to October (Northern hemisphere)
November to April (Southern hemisphere)
8am to 5pmFlying around4500
DamselflyNovember to February (Northern hemisphere)
May to August (Southern hemisphere)
All dayFlying around500
FireflyJune (Northern hemisphere)
December (Southern hemisphere)
7pm to 4amFlying around300
Mole CricketNovember to May (Northern hemisphere)
November to March (Southern hemisphere)
All dayListen for its buzzing noise, then dig holes until one appears500
PondskaterMay to September (Northern hemisphere)
November to March (Southern hemisphere)
8am to 7pmOn ponds and rivers130
Diving BettleMay to September (Northern hemisphere)
November to March (Southern hemisphere)
8am to 7pmOn ponds and rivers800
Giant Water BugApril to September (Northern hemisphere)
October to March (Southern hemisphere)
7pm to 8am On a pond2000
StinkbugMarch to October (Northern hemisphere)
September to April (Southern hemisphere)
All dayOn flowers120
Man-faced Stink BugMarch to October (Northern hemisphere)
September to April (Southern hemisphere)
7pm to 8amOn flowers1000
LadybugMarch to June / October (Northern hemisphere)
September to December / April (Southern hemisphere)
8am to 5pmOn flowers200
Tiger BettleFebruary to October (Northern hemisphere)
August to April (Southern hemisphere)
All dayOn the ground1500
Jewel BeetleApril to August (Northern hemisphere)
October to February (Southern hemisphere)
All dayAppears on tree stumps2400
Violin BeetleMay to June / September to November (Northern hemisphere)
March to May / November to December (Southern hemisphere)
All dayAppears on tree stumps450
Citrus Long-horned BeetleAll year roundAll dayAppears on a tree stump350
Rosalia Batesi BeetleMay to September (Northern hemisphere)
November to March (Southern hemisphere)
All dayAppears on a tree stump3000
Blue Weevil BeetleJuly to August (Northern hemisphere)
January to February (Southern hemisphere)
All dayAppears on a tree stump800
Dung BeetleDecember to February (Northern hemisphere)
June to August (Southern hemisphere)
All dayOn the ground rolling snowballs3000
Earth-boring Dung BeetleJuly to September (Northern hemisphere)
January to February (Southern hemisphere)
All dayOn the ground300
Scarab BeetleJuly to August (Northern hemisphere)
January to February (Southern hemisphere)
11pm to 8amOn trees10000
Drone BeetleJune to August (Northern hemisphere)
December to February (Southern hemisphere)
All dayOn trees200
Goliath BeetleJune to September (Northern hemisphere)
December to March (Southern hemisphere)
5pm to 8amOn trees8000
Saw StagJuly to August (Northern hemisphere)
January to February (Southern hemisphere)
All dayOn trees2000
Miyama StagJuly to August (Northern hemisphere)
January to February (Southern hemisphere)
All dayOn trees1000
Giant StagJuly to August (Northern hemisphere)
January to February (Southern hemisphere)
11pm to 8amOn trees10000
Rainbow StagJune to September (Northern hemisphere)
December to March (Southern hemisphere)
7pm to 8amOn trees6000
Cyclommatus StagJuly to August (Northern hemisphere)
January to February (Southern hemisphere)
5pm to 8amOn coconut trees8000
Golden StagJuly to August (Northern hemisphere)
January to February (Southern hemisphere)
5pm to 8amOn coconut trees12000
Giraffe StagJuly to August (Northern hemisphere)
January to February (Southern hemisphere)
5pm to 8amOn trees12000
Horned DynastidJuly to August (Northern hemisphere)
January to February (Southern hemisphere)
5pm to 8amOn trees1350
Horned AtlasJuly to August (Northern hemisphere)
January to February (Southern hemisphere)
5pm to 8amOn coconut trees8000
Horned ElephantJuly to August (Northern hemisphere)
January to February (Southern hemisphere)
5pm to 8amOn coconut trees8000
Horned HerculesJuly to August (Northern hemisphere)
January to February (Southern hemisphere)
5pm to 8am On coconut trees12000
Walking StickJuly to November (Northern hemisphere)
January to May (Southern hemisphere)
4am to 8am
5pm to 7pm
On trees600
Walking LeafJuly to September (Northern hemisphere)
January to March (Southern hemisphere)
All dayUnder trees disguised as leaves600
BagwormAll year roundAll dayShake trees until one hangs down600
AntAll year roundAll dayWill appear on spoiled turnips80
Hermit CrabAll year round7pm to 8amOn the beach - looks like a shell 1000
Wharf RoachAll year roundAll dayAppears on flat rocks near the sea200
FlyAll year roundAll dayOn trash left on the ground60
MosquitoJune to September (Northern hemisphere)
December to March (Southern hemisphere)
5pm to 4amFlying around 130
FleaApril to November (Northern hemisphere)
October to May (Southern hemisphere)
All dayOn an infested villager70
SnailAll year roundAll dayMust be raining - on a rock 250
Pill BugSeptember to June (Northern hemisphere)
March to December (Southern hemisphere)
11pm to 4pmHit a rock with a shovel until one appears250
CentipedeSeptember to June (Northern hemisphere)
March to December (Southern hemisphere)
4pm to 11pmHit a rock with a shovel until one appears300
SpiderAll year round7pm to 8amShake trees until one hangs down600
TarantulaNovember to April (Northern hemisphere)
May to October (Southern hemisphere)
7pm to 4amOn the ground8000
ScorpionMay to October (Northern hemisphere)
November to April (Southern hemisphere)
7pm to 4amOn the ground8000

Good luck bug hunting!