Is it still true that some months are better at catching certain bugs and fish than other months? I'm having a lot of trouble lately with certain bugs and fish not popping up, like the giant water bug, banded dragonfly, and barreleye... I need them for my museum and encyclopedia, but just cannot find them for the life of me...
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Is this still true?
- Thread starter AlyssaAC
- Start date
tolisamarie
Senior Member
I see tons of giant water bugs whenever I go to a mystery island. They hug the sides of the river, so can be easy to miss and I was only able to catch the barrel eye fish by using LOTS of fish bait. I've only caught two banded dragonflies. They're a rare spawn and they are FAST!!!
Frequency
Overnight Wanderer
Yes, all bugs and fish are limited during the time of the year AND time of day. If you check your encyclopedia, it'll highlight the months in which that bug or fish is active as well as during what time of the day. You can find sites on guides for the fish and bugs needed for the time of year, etc. This is important to know as bugs and fish become inactive during some months, so they're not able to be caught at all no matter how hard you look. Here's an example for May in the nothern hemisphere:
Critter type Critter Location Shadow size Time
Bug Great Purple Emperor Flying N/A 4 a.m. - 7 p.m.
Bug Queen Alexandra's Birdwing Flying N/A 8 a.m. - 4 p.m.
Bug Banded Dragonfly Flying N/A 8 a.m. - 5 p.m.
Bug Pondskater Ponds N/A 8 a.m. - 7 p.m.
Bug Diving Beetle Ponds and rivers N/A 8 a.m. - 7 p.m.
Bug Violin Beetle On tree stumps N/A All day
Bug Rosalia Batesi Beetle On tree stumps N/A All day
Bug Scorpion On ground N/A 7 p.m. - 4 a.m.
Fish Frog Pond Small All day
Fish Catfish Pond Large 4 p.m. - 9 a.m.
Fish Nibble Fish River Smallest 9 a.m. - 4 p.m.
Fish Angelfish River Small 4 p.m. - 9 a.m.
Fish Betta River Small 9 a.m. - 4 p.m.
Fish Rainbowfish River Smallest 9 a.m. - 4 p.m.
Fish Giant Trevally Pier Large All day
Fish Mahi-mahi Pier Large All day
Critter type Critter Location Shadow size Time
Bug Great Purple Emperor Flying N/A 4 a.m. - 7 p.m.
Bug Queen Alexandra's Birdwing Flying N/A 8 a.m. - 4 p.m.
Bug Banded Dragonfly Flying N/A 8 a.m. - 5 p.m.
Bug Pondskater Ponds N/A 8 a.m. - 7 p.m.
Bug Diving Beetle Ponds and rivers N/A 8 a.m. - 7 p.m.
Bug Violin Beetle On tree stumps N/A All day
Bug Rosalia Batesi Beetle On tree stumps N/A All day
Bug Scorpion On ground N/A 7 p.m. - 4 a.m.
Fish Frog Pond Small All day
Fish Catfish Pond Large 4 p.m. - 9 a.m.
Fish Nibble Fish River Smallest 9 a.m. - 4 p.m.
Fish Angelfish River Small 4 p.m. - 9 a.m.
Fish Betta River Small 9 a.m. - 4 p.m.
Fish Rainbowfish River Smallest 9 a.m. - 4 p.m.
Fish Giant Trevally Pier Large All day
Fish Mahi-mahi Pier Large All day
kiwikenobi
GONE FROM TBT
@Frequency I believe OP was asking that, for example, if there's a bug that's available May-August, is there a month out of those four months that has a higher occurrence of that bug than other months? Such as, would it be easier to find that bug in June instead of May?
Frequency
Overnight Wanderer
oh (my bad if that's the case)... I personally don't think there's a difference as long as they're active in that month and that time of the day.
Thanks everyone for who responded. I could've swore in past games like New Leaf, some bugs and fish spawned more frequently than others in certain months, but I'll try out the mystery tours and see if I can get them to spawn there instead. 
I think some bugs don't start spawning until certain milestones in your island development. I started getting Giant Water Bugs long before my mom did on her island, but after she built a couple more bridges or had a couple more villagers (or both) they started spawning. Maybe a coincidence, but didn't seem like it.
Based on personal experience and observation, it's random.
For this month, I've had days where banded dragonflies and emperor butterflies are more common. Sometimes, all I see are bluebottles and tiger butterflies. I've had times when large fish shadows spawn frequently at the pier, and there are days all I get are small-medium fish. All on the same time frame (I play typically between 6AM-3PM, but mostly 10AM).
So, in my conclusion, there are no "best" times when to catch fish/bugs. It's all random.
For this month, I've had days where banded dragonflies and emperor butterflies are more common. Sometimes, all I see are bluebottles and tiger butterflies. I've had times when large fish shadows spawn frequently at the pier, and there are days all I get are small-medium fish. All on the same time frame (I play typically between 6AM-3PM, but mostly 10AM).
So, in my conclusion, there are no "best" times when to catch fish/bugs. It's all random.
senbeiiscool
Could you pass the senbei?
I do know that Nintendo nerfed the rare bug spawn but otherwise, if you're fishing or catching bugs at the right time and month, it should be there.
Although I do find those waterbugs never show up on my island but they do frequently on NMT islands
Although I do find those waterbugs never show up on my island but they do frequently on NMT islands
Bioness
Mass Hysteria
Here are the datamined spawn rates for bugs.
The colors are a comparison of the recent nerfs Nintendo did. Spawn rates do not vary by month, however having less bugs/fish of other species active will mean the one you are looking for has a better chance to spawn.
There are also caps to the amount of bugs/fish that can be in an area. If you don't see what you want, you scare the fish and bugs away to reset the area.
The colors are a comparison of the recent nerfs Nintendo did. Spawn rates do not vary by month, however having less bugs/fish of other species active will mean the one you are looking for has a better chance to spawn.
There are also caps to the amount of bugs/fish that can be in an area. If you don't see what you want, you scare the fish and bugs away to reset the area.
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