How to Find (& Catch) the Scarab Beetle in Animal Crossing: New Horizons

Collectables are a big thing in games. In Animal Crossing: New Horizons there is a huge variety of things to collect. Clothing, musical instruments, types of furniture, fish, bugs, fossils, and more are all things that players can collect during the course of their game. Part of its longevity is that time passes in the game the same way it does in real life (though there are ways around that). And certain things are only available during a certain time of year. After all, creatures migrate. Also, do not expect to see a snowman sunbathing.

Animal Crossing: New Horizons has many activities in which players can partake. Some of them are quite bizarre, others are more mundane, such as bug catching. Anyone who has played other child-friendly games knows that catching them all is of utmost importance. Players who want to catch all the bugs and fill up the museum’s bug gallery, as well as the Critterpedia, need to know about the conditions in which bugs, such as the scarab beetle will appear.

Bugging the Scarab Beetle Animal Crossing: New Horizons

The scarab beetle has a nice silver sheen, so it should be easy to spot, right? If only. The scarab beetle is one of the rarest bugs in the game and getting it to appear can be a real pain. It can literally take hours before one spawns, though that is based on luck. Worse, it only appears during extremely specific times and in very specific places. Knowing when and where to find it is crucial.

For players who live in the northern hemisphere, it only appears in July and August. Southern hemisphere players can find it in January and February. Also, the insect is nocturnal, only appearing from 11PM-8AM. If players want to catch it, perhaps a favorite beverage will be needed to make it through.

As for its location, it can be found on the trunks of trees. It has competition for space with other bugs who will also appear on tree trunks. When a scarab beetle is located, it must be approached slowly and carefully. Get too close or move too fast and the insect will fly off, then the whole process has to be repeated. If players manage to catch one, they can donate it to Blathers, keep it for their own collection, or sell it. Selling it at Nook’s Cranny nets the player 10,000 bells, which is nothing to sneeze at (sneezing is not advised; it’ll probably spook the scarab beetle). Or when Flick appears on the island, he will buy it for 15,000 bells.

Animal Crossing: New Horizons is available now on Nintendo Switch.

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