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

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:

Good luck bug hunting!