Animal Crossing: New Horizons is a game for completionists, giving you tons of things to collect that can take up a lot of your time. In particular, bug catching can eat up lots of your time, especially since so many of them only appear during certain times of the year. Each month, different bugs come and go, even though the overall list might not change much from November to December, for example.
In this guide, we’ll go through the new Animal Crossing: New Horizons December 2021 bug list, including tips on when they appear, where to find them, how much they’re worth, and more.
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Bug-catching tips
Bug spawns are peculiar, with some of them only appearing in specific, fixed locations, while others are more general. For instance, in order to get an ant to spawn, you must have rotten food. Stink bugs, on the other hand, appear on flowers that can be found across your island. In some cases, depending on the bug, you’ll have to wander the island a bit to get them to spawn, so keep that in mind.
We recommend bringing multiple nets with you while searching for bugs. That way, you’ve got a backup if one breaks, which will save you from having to visit the store or your personal stash for an extra one. Likewise, bringing a Golden Net is a great idea since they last longer than the standard counterpart.
When approaching deadly creatures like scorpions and tarantulas, it’s best to walk up to them with your net put away, as they’re less likely to attack you. If you’ve tried to catch one with your net out, you’ve probably been injured by them at some point or another, so try the process empty-handed. Once you get close enough, grab your net, and you’ll have an easier time capturing them.
Bug list
One of the quirks of Animal Crossing: New Horizons is that it follows the seasons in real-time, meaning summer in the game reflects summer in real life. That rule rings true regardless of the hemisphere and depending on the time of year, various bugs will make an appearance. But it gets deeper than that, as certain bugs that appear throughout a given month will only come out during specific times of the day. These bugs come and go as the seasons change, so you’ll always want to keep up to date with the current list for the month.
Changes in December
In December, you’ll find various changes to the available bugs. In the Northern Hemisphere, many of the bugs that appeared last month remain, along with the inclusion of the emperor butterfly, Rajah Brooke’s birdwing, and dung beetle. The monarch butterfly, long locust, migratory locust, cricket, and flea have all left starting this month.
The Southern Hemisphere also features changes this December. Gone is the mole cricket, so you’ll still have plenty of critters to catch. And, of course, many of the bugs from November are still present this month — plus, the inclusion of the emperor butterfly, firefly, drone beetle, rainbow stag, and mosquito.
Below are the full lists of December 2021’s bugs across the Northern and Southern Hemispheres.
