Heartopia's bug catching system lets you collect 10 unique insects scattered across the map, from common Butterflies in the Flower Gardens to the elusive Legendary Golden Scarab hidden deep in the Underground Caves. Each bug has a specific location, season, and time window that determines when it spawns. This guide covers every insect in the game, explains how catching mechanics work, breaks down rarity tiers and sell prices, and provides a practical 7-day collection plan so you can complete your Museum donations and maximize your gold income efficiently.
Bug catching is a collection mechanic that becomes available on Day 3 of your Heartopia playthrough. Once you purchase a Bug Net from the General Store for 200g, you can equip it and swing at any insect you find in the world. Successfully catching a bug adds it to your inventory, where you can sell it for gold or donate it to the Museum to work toward the Entomologist title and exclusive home decorations.
There are 10 bugs in total, spanning four rarity tiers: Common, Uncommon, Rare, and Legendary. Common bugs appear frequently in accessible areas during broad time windows, while rarer insects require specific seasons, times of day, and sometimes weather conditions. The Golden Scarab, the sole Legendary bug, sells for 500g — more than double any other insect — and spawns only in the deepest sections of the Underground Caves.
Bug catching pairs well with other outdoor activities. You can catch Fireflies on your way to night fishing in Emberwood Forest, or sweep the Flower Gardens for Butterflies and Honeybees while tending your crops. The system rewards players who pay attention to seasonal changes and plan their daily routes to overlap with bug spawn windows.
The Bug Net does not appear in the General Store until Day 3 of your playthrough. Use Days 1-2 to earn starting gold from crops, foraging, or fishing so you have enough to buy the net on Day 3.
Visit the General Store and buy the Bug Net for 200g. It appears in the Tools section. The basic net has 100 durability (one point per swing, hit or miss). You can upgrade later at the blacksmith.
Open your tool wheel and assign the Bug Net to a slot. When you spot a bug, hold the walk button to approach slowly (sprinting scares them), then press the action button to swing. A green flash confirms a successful catch.
🦋
Location: Flower Gardens
Season: Spring / Summer
Time: Morning
Sell Price: 30g
Walk slowly — sprinting within 5 tiles scares it away.
🐞
Location: Cloverfield Meadow
Season: Spring
Time: Daytime
Sell Price: 25g
Check under clover patches for higher spawn rates.
✨
Location: Emberwood Forest
Season: Summer
Time: Night (8 PM – 4 AM)
Sell Price: 80g
Follow the glow trails — they lead to clusters of 2–3.
🪲
Location: Maple Ridge
Season: Summer / Fall
Time: Evening
Sell Price: 150g
Spawns on large tree trunks — approach from behind.
🪻
Location: Tidal Pools
Season: Summer
Time: Afternoon
Sell Price: 60g
Hovers near water edges; swing your net slightly ahead of its path.
🦗
Location: Farm Area
Season: Fall
Time: Night
Sell Price: 35g
Listen for chirping — the sound gets louder as you get closer.
🌙
Location: Bamboo Forest
Season: Spring
Time: Night
Sell Price: 200g
Only spawns on clear moonlit nights — check the weather forecast.
⭐
Location: Underground Caves
Season: Any
Time: Any
Sell Price: 500g
Spawns near glowing ore deposits deep in the cave system.
🐝
Location: Flower Gardens
Season: Spring / Summer
Time: Morning / Afternoon
Sell Price: 20g
Follow a caught Honeybee’s trail marker to find wild honey.
❄️
Location: Highland Plateau
Season: Winter
Time: Daytime
Sell Price: 90g
Hides under snow-covered rocks — interact with rocks to flush it out.
The permanent bug list still matters for Museum completion, but the active Modular Streets festival adds a temporary Brick insect lane. Run this lane before normal bug farming whenever the event objective is active.
Window: Active during Modular Streets event routes
Open the event panel, start the marked Brick insect route, and clear the visible water-edge and forest-edge spawns before switching back to normal bugs.
Priority: Complete the event objective first because tokens and limited rewards expire before permanent Museum progress does.
Window: Weekend special event window
Reserve stamina and inventory space for the weekend special route, then stop after the objective is complete unless you still need token shop currency.
Priority: Treat this as a weekend-only chase. Do not burn weekday sessions looking for a variant tied to special event availability.
Equip your net: Select the Bug Net from your tool wheel. You cannot catch bugs with any other tool, and bare-handed attempts do nothing. The net must be in your active hand slot.
Approach slowly: Bugs have a detection radius of approximately 5 tiles. Sprinting inside this radius triggers their flee animation and they vanish instantly. Always hold the walk button when you see a bug. Crouching (hold the sneak button) reduces your detection radius to 3 tiles, giving you more room to maneuver.
Timing window: Once you are within swing range (2 tiles), press the action button to swing the net. Common bugs give you about 3 seconds before they fly away naturally. Uncommon bugs stay for 2 seconds. Rare bugs allow only 1.5 seconds, and the Legendary Golden Scarab gives you barely 1 second. Missing your swing costs 1 durability and the bug flees.
Net durability: The basic Bug Net has 100 durability. Every swing costs 1 point regardless of whether you hit or miss. At 0 durability the net breaks and disappears from your inventory. Repair at the blacksmith costs 50g, or upgrade to the Reinforced Net (250 durability, 500g) or Silver Net (unlimited durability, 1,500g) for long-term savings.
Bugs are divided into four rarity tiers that determine both their spawn frequency and sell value. Higher-rarity bugs appear less often and in more specific conditions, but reward significantly more gold when sold.
| Rarity | Sell Range | Bugs |
|---|---|---|
| Common | 20–35g | Butterfly, Ladybug, Cricket, Honeybee |
| Uncommon | 60–90g | Firefly, Dragonfly, Snow Cricket |
| Rare | 150–200g | Stag Beetle, Luna Moth |
| Legendary | 500g | Golden Scarab |
This plan assumes you start in Spring/Summer (the most productive overlap). The goal is to catch all 4 Common bugs and all 3 Uncommon bugs within one week. Rare and Legendary bugs require additional targeted trips.
Morning — Head to Flower Gardens. Catch Butterfly and Honeybee (both spawn here in morning). Sell duplicates for ~50g. Donate one of each to the Museum.
Daytime — Visit Cloverfield Meadow for Ladybug. Then walk south to Tidal Pools in the afternoon to catch Dragonfly. Two new species in one trip, 85g if you sell both.
Night — Head to Emberwood Forest after 8 PM for Fireflies. Follow the glow trails to find clusters. Catch 3–4 for 240–320g total. Donate one to the Museum.
Evening — Travel to Maple Ridge at dusk to hunt the Stag Beetle (Rare). Approach large tree trunks from behind. If you miss, it won’t respawn until tomorrow. Sell value: 150g.
Morning/Afternoon — Return to Flower Gardens for more Butterflies and Honeybees. Stock up on inventory to sell in bulk. Target: 10 bugs for 250g+ income.
Night (clear weather required) — Check forecast. If clear, rush to Bamboo Forest for the Luna Moth. This Rare bug sells for 200g and only appears on moonlit nights. If weather is bad, farm Fireflies in Emberwood instead.
Any time — Explore the Underground Caves for the Golden Scarab. Bring a torch and check near every glowing ore deposit. Spawn rate is ~5% per visit, so you may need multiple trips across several days. If found, sell for 500g or donate for the final Museum slot.
Note: The Snow Cricket (Winter only) and season-locked bugs cannot be caught during this Spring/Summer plan. When Winter arrives, visit the Highland Plateau during daytime to complete your collection. A full set of 10 donated bugs earns the Entomologist title and the Bug Display Case furniture.
🔨
The basic Bug Net from the General Store breaks after 100 catches. Visit the blacksmith to upgrade it to a Reinforced Net (500g) for 250 catches, or a Silver Net (1,500g) for unlimited durability. The Silver Net also increases your catch window by 0.3 seconds.
📅
Every bug has a specific season and time-of-day window. Before heading out, check your in-game watch to confirm both the current season and time. Night-only bugs like the Firefly and Luna Moth will not appear during daytime no matter how long you wait.
👟
Sprinting within 5 tiles of any bug triggers its flee animation. Switch to walk mode as soon as you spot one. Common bugs give you about 3 seconds to swing; Rare and Legendary bugs give less than 2 seconds before they vanish.
📋
Donating one of each bug to the Museum unlocks the "Entomologist" title and a decorative Bug Display Case for your home. Open the Museum app on your watch to track which bugs you still need. Donated bugs do not count toward your sell income, so catch extras.
🧩
During Modular Streets, start with Brick Large Red Damselfly objectives before your normal Museum sweep. Permanent bugs respawn later, but event token windows and weekend special variants do not wait for slow route planning.
🌧️
Rain suppresses Butterfly and Honeybee spawns but doubles Cricket and Firefly encounter rates. Check tomorrow’s weather forecast and plan your route accordingly. A rainy summer night in Emberwood Forest can yield 6–8 Fireflies in a single trip.
Purchase a Bug Net from the General Store for 200g. The net becomes available on Day 3 of your playthrough. Once you own the net, equip it from your tool wheel and approach any bug to start catching. No quests or prerequisites are needed beyond buying the net.
The Golden Scarab is the only Legendary-tier bug. It spawns in the Underground Caves near glowing ore deposits and has no season or time restriction, but its spawn rate is extremely low — roughly a 5% chance per cave visit. It sells for 500g and is the most valuable bug in the game.
No. Bugs cannot be caught bare-handed or with any other tool. You must have a Bug Net equipped. If your net breaks mid-trip (after 100 catches on the basic net), you need to return to the General Store or blacksmith for a replacement or repair before you can catch more.
The basic Bug Net has 100 durability points and loses 1 point per swing, whether you hit or miss. The Reinforced Net has 250 durability. The Silver Net has unlimited durability. You can check remaining durability by hovering over the net in your inventory. Repairs at the blacksmith cost 50g for the basic net and 120g for the reinforced version.
Yes. Bug spawn points reset every in-game day at 6 AM. Each location has a fixed number of spawn slots that fill based on the current season and weather. Catching a bug frees up its slot, but no replacement spawns until the next day. You can revisit the same spot daily for consistent farming.
Donate one of each species first to complete the Museum collection and unlock the Entomologist title plus the Bug Display Case furniture. After that, sell all duplicates. Common bugs are not worth much individually, but a full inventory of 20 Butterflies still nets 600g — a solid early-game income source.
The Luna Moth spawns in the Bamboo Forest during Spring nights, but only when the weather is clear. Overcast or rainy nights prevent it from appearing. Check your weather forecast the evening before and head to the Bamboo Forest after 8 PM on clear nights. It glows faintly green, making it visible among the bamboo stalks.
Brick Large Red Damselfly variants are limited-time event insects, so handle them before normal Museum farming. Check the Modular Streets event panel, run the marked Brick insect route, and save weekend stamina for the Colorful variant if it is active.