How to Farm Rare Bugs in Animal Crossing: New Horizons
Farming rare bugs in Animal Crossing: New Horizons (ACNH) is a rewarding endeavor, both for completing your Critterpedia and amassing a fortune in Bells. It requires a mix of strategy, patience, and knowledge of bug spawn mechanics. Unlike simply wandering around and hoping for the best, targeted farming involves manipulating your environment and understanding specific bug behaviors.
The key to effectively farming rare bugs involves several core tactics:
- Island Manipulation: Transforming your island, or a part of it, into a bug-friendly haven is crucial. This includes removing unwanted spawn locations and enhancing preferred habitats.
- Time Management: Many rare bugs only appear during specific times of the day or year, so adjusting your play schedule or utilizing time travel can significantly increase your chances.
- Targeted Habitat Creation: Focusing on the habitats that specific rare bugs prefer—such as palm trees for beetles or flowers for specific butterflies—will concentrate their spawn locations.
- Understanding Spawn Mechanics: Certain behaviors or environmental conditions influence which bugs will appear. Being aware of these mechanics will help optimize your farming strategy.
- Strategic Movement: Approach potential catches with a calculated slowness to avoid scaring them off, and use a net properly.
By combining these strategies, you can drastically improve your chances of finding those elusive and valuable insects.
Understanding Bug Spawn Mechanics
Before diving into specific methods, it’s important to grasp the basics of how bugs spawn in ACNH. Bugs appear in various locations, and their appearance is determined by several factors, including:
- Time of Day: Some bugs are diurnal, appearing only during the day, while others are nocturnal, active only at night.
- Time of Year: Specific bugs are only available during certain months or seasons.
- Weather Conditions: Rain, snow, or clear skies can influence which bugs appear.
- Environmental Factors: The type of terrain (grass, sand, water), presence of trees, and flowers all affect bug spawns.
By understanding these factors, you can target the specific times and environments that your desired rare bugs frequent.
Effective Island Manipulation Strategies
The “Tarantula Island” Technique (Modified for General Rare Bug Farming)
While this technique was famously used for tarantulas, it can be modified to generally increase the spawn rate of rare bugs. Here’s how:
- Clear the Landscape: Chop down all non-palm trees in your chosen area and dig up all flowers and bushes. Fill in any holes created. This eliminates normal bug spawn locations and forces bugs to appear more frequently on preferred locations like palm trees.
- Beach Flower Placement: If you chose to dig up all your flowers, carry the flowers and plant them on the beach. This will further control where bugs spawn, so they aren’t spawning on random patches of dirt where you’re trying to find them.
- Focus on Palm Trees: Leave palm trees standing along the beach. Many valuable beetles, like the Horned Hercules, Golden Stag, and Giraffe Stag, are attracted to them.
This method, while drastic, creates a concentrated area for rare bugs, making them easier to spot and catch.
The “Beetle Farming” Method
This method focuses specifically on attracting beetles to your island and is similar to the method above.
- Clear your Island: Like above, chop down all non-palm trees, dig up flowers and bushes. This will get rid of most of the common spawns, which will increase the chance of rarer bugs appearing.
- Focus on the Palm Trees: As stated above, palm trees are where most rare beetles like to hang out. Leave a row of them on the beach or your chosen bug farming location.
- Strategic Movement: Slowly walk around the palm trees, and check each tree to see if a rare beetle is present.
Other Island Modifications
- Leave Tree Stumps: Certain bugs, like the stinkbug, are attracted to tree stumps. Keeping a few stumps around can be helpful.
- Utilize Flowers: Planting specific colors of flowers can attract particular butterflies and other insects. For example, blue, black, and purple flowers are known to attract rare butterflies.
- Remove Rocks: Remove any unnecessary rocks as certain bugs do not spawn near them.
Time and Season Strategies
Targeted Time Slots
Many rare bugs only spawn during specific hours. Here are some notable time slots:
- 5 PM – 8 AM: This is prime time for Horned Hercules, Golden Stag, and Giraffe Stag, all found on palm trees.
- Nighttime (7 PM onwards): This is when tarantulas, scorpions, and other nocturnal bugs are most likely to appear.
- Daytime (8 AM – 5 PM): Many common bugs, and some rarer butterflies and beetles, can be found during the day.
Adjusting your gameplay to coincide with these time slots can significantly improve your yields.
Seasonal Availability
Certain bugs are only available during specific months. For example, the Horned Hercules and the Scarab Beetle appear during the summer months. Consult a comprehensive guide to determine which bugs are available during your current season, and focus on those bugs.
Catching Techniques
Slow Approach
Rare bugs are often skittish. Approaching them too quickly can cause them to fly away or disappear. When you spot a rare bug, slowly approach it with your net equipped and use the slow walk function by gently tilting the joystick. Stop when you are within catching range, and then swing your net.
Net Management
Make sure you always have a few nets on hand. A broken net can ruin a perfect opportunity. Additionally, the Golden Net will have a larger range, making the catch easier, and it also does not break.
Selling Your Catches
Flick’s Markup
Flick, the chameleon, will buy bugs for 1.5x their normal selling price. This makes him the go-to person for selling your rare bug catches. However, he only visits sporadically, so be prepared to store your bugs if he isn’t there. You will also need to be prepared for him to leave at 5:00am the following day.
The Value of Rare Bugs
The most valuable bugs in ACNH are:
- Golden Stag: 12,000 Bells
- Giraffe Stag: 12,000 Bells
- Horned Hercules: 12,000 Bells
- Scarab Beetle: 10,000 Bells
- Giant Stag: 10,000 Bells
- Cyclommatus Stag: 8,000 Bells
- Scorpion: 8,000 Bells
- Tarantula: 8,000 Bells
These bugs can quickly fill up your wallet when sold to Flick.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
What is the rarest bug in ACNH?
The Giraffe Stag is widely considered one of the rarest bugs in ACNH, along with the Golden Stag, given their low spawn rate and specific appearance requirements.
How often does the Horned Hercules spawn?
The Horned Hercules spawns on palm trees between 5 PM and 8 AM during the summer months (June – August).
How do you get rare beetles to spawn?
Rare beetles are most reliably found by eliminating other potential spawn locations by removing flowers, bushes, and non-palm trees, and focusing the remaining spawns on palm trees along the beach.
Can you lure bugs in Animal Crossing?
Yes, certain bugs are attracted to specific types of flowers or rotting items like trash or spoiled turnips, which is useful for catching flies.
What is the most valuable bug in ACNH?
The Golden Stag, Giraffe Stag, and Horned Hercules all sell for 12,000 Bells each to Flick, making them the most valuable bugs.
How do you catch a tarantula?
Tarantulas spawn at night, and can be caught by slowly approaching them with your net and striking quickly. Be careful, if you get to close, or approach too fast, they may attack, leaving you unconscious.
Does Flick pay more for bugs?
Yes, Flick pays 1.5 times the standard selling price for all bugs, making him the best option for selling.
What is the best time to catch bugs?
The best times for catching rare bugs are between 5 PM and 8 AM for most rare beetles and at night for nocturnal insects like tarantulas and scorpions.
What should I do if I can’t find any rare bugs?
If you are having trouble, ensure you have cleared away all other spawn locations and are searching during the correct time slot for the bugs you’re seeking. Adjusting your island for bug farming can also help.
How rare are flies in ACNH?
Flies are comparatively rare in ACNH and are attracted to spoiled items, like rotten food or garbage.
What is the most expensive fish to sell in Animal Crossing?
Oarfish and Coelacanth are among the most valuable fish, but they also tend to be more rare.
What is the rarest villager type in Animal Crossing?
Octopus villagers are the rarest, with only three representatives in the game.
Do flower colors affect what bugs spawn on them?
Yes, certain colors of flowers attract different bugs, so planting a variety will help with your bug catching.
How much does a Horned Atlas sell for?
The Horned Atlas sells for 8,000 Bells.
Can I use time travel to find specific bugs?
Yes, you can use time travel to go to specific months and times when rare bugs you are looking for are available, however, this method may take time as you will have to search through a lot of spawns to get what you’re looking for.
By applying these strategies and information, you’ll be well-equipped to become a master rare bug farmer in ACNH. Happy hunting!