Bug catching

Bugs are a large part of the games. The act of capturing a bug is called bug catching. Bug catching has featured in all the Animal Crossing games. Bugs are one of the four items that can be donated to the museum; the others are fish, fossils and paintings. Despite the most expensive bugs selling for less than the most expensive fish, the bug is more diverse in prices, from 5 Bells to 12,000 Bells. Like fish, not all bugs are actually insects, for example the snail or spider. Bugs can be found in several different places in an Animal Crossing town, by far the most common is on trees. Bugs are caught with the net, or it's upgrades, the silver net and the golden net.

Nets
There are 2 types of net in and, but 3 in  and.

Net
Sold in Tom Nook's Store for 500 Bells.

Silver Net
Sold (rarely) in Tom Nook's Store for 500 Bells (City Folk) and sold in the Museum Shop for the same price (New Leaf). It is a little bigger than the regular net, so it's better at catching bugs. Only in City Folk and New Leaf.

Golden Net
Given to the player by Tortimer when the player has caught all the 40 (Animal Crossing), 56 (Animal Crossing: Wild World), 64 (City Folk), or 72 (New Leaf, given by Isabelle). This net makes it much easier to catch bugs.

Where can bugs be caught?
There are several locations where bugs can be caught:

On trees
The tree is the place where most bugs can be caught. Most beetles appear on trees. 23 total.

On palm trees
Six, very rare, bugs can be found on the palm trees. The Goliath Beetle, the Golden Stag, the Hercules Beetle, the Atlas Beetle, the Elephant Beetle and the Cyclommatus, selling for 6000, 12000, 12000, 8000, 8000 and 8000 Bells repectively. There is also a Coconut Crab, but that is only found in Animal Forest e+.

On the Ground
Crickets, grasshoppers, stunners, and a few others are found on the ground. There are 12 bugs total.

In the air
All butterflies and dragonflies are found flying around, and the Firefly, Honeybee, Mosquito, and Moth are also. 19 bugs total.

On Flowers
A few bugs use flowers to be found. The Snail, Ladybug, Spotted Ladybug, Mantis, and Orchid Mantis are the 5 flower bugs.

On Garbage
The Ant and Fly are found near/on trash. The fly is also near Rafflesia.