Bug-Off
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![]() Flick in the event plaza in New Horizons | ||||||||
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Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | |||
Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |||
Southern Hemisphere months ![]() | ||||||||
Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | |||
Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |||
Occurrence | ||||||||
Varies between games (see recurrence) | ||||||||
Time | Competition 12 PM – 6 PM[nb 1] 9 AM – 6 PM[nb 2] Awards Ceremony 6 PM – 9 PM[nb 3] | |||||||
Host | Tortimer[nb 4] Nat[nb 5] Flick[nb 6] | |||||||
Main appearances | ||||||||
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Other appearances | ||||||||
Names in other languages
ムシとりたいかい大会
捕虫大赛 Insectosafari Caza de Bichos Insettomania Турнир «Мастер сачка»
곤충채집대회 捕蟲大會 Insectosafari Caza de Insectos Insektikus-Turnier Beestjesbeker |
The Bug-Off is a bug-catching competition event in the Animal Crossing series that is held during the summer months of June, July, August, and September. In New Horizons, islands set in the southern hemisphere experience the Bug-Off during the months of November, December, January, and February. While the principle of the Bug-Off remains the same across the series, there have been different variations across games.
The Bug-Off was initially introduced in Wild World and has returned in subsequent games as a bug-catching counterpart to the Fishing Tourney, which runs during the other eight months of the year. It is hosted by Tortimer in Wild World, Nat in City Folk and New Leaf, and Flick in New Horizons.
Appearances[edit]
In Wild World[edit]
The Bug-Off in Animal Crossing: Wild World is hosted by Tortimer, who can be found outside the town hall between 12 PM and 6 PM. The competition is held on the third Sunday of June, July, August, and September. The aim of the competition is simply for participants to catch and present the largest bug they can find. The player does not necessarily need to catch bugs during the event, as they can present bugs caught beforehand.
The player must present bugs to Tortimer, who will measure them but not return them. If the bug sets a new size record, he will award them a random furniture item. If it does not, he will simply commiserate the player and inform them of the current record. The record will increase throughout the day as villagers participate in the event. If the player holds the record when the competition ends, they will be announced as the winner on the bulletin board, and be mailed a letter of congratulations with a Bug trophy attached.
If the player does not have a net, Tortimer will give them one for free.
In City Folk[edit]

The Bug-Off in Animal Crossing: City Folk is now hosted by Nat, who can be found beside a stall outside of the town hall between 9 AM and 6 PM. It is held on the third Saturday of June, July, August, and September. The aim of the competition is still to catch bugs, but bugs are now evaluated on a several different factors that award points. The competitor with the highest score will win the contest. As in the previous game, the bugs the player presents do not necessarily have to be those caught during the event.
When the player presents a bug to Nat, he will evaluate the bug and assign points, but will not return it and imply that he's saving it for later consumption. If the bug scores enough points to set a new first place record, Nat will award the player with a random furniture item. The record will increase throughout the day as villagers participate in the event. If the player holds the record when the competition ends, they will announced as the winner on the bulletin board, and be mailed a letter of congratulations with a Bug trophy attached.
If the player does not have a net, Nat will offer to sell one for 500 Bells.
In New Leaf[edit]
The Bug-Off in Animal Crossing: New Leaf is once again hosted by Nat, who can be found outside of his tent in the plaza from 9 AM to 6 PM. It is held on the third Saturday of June, July, August, and September.
As in the previous game, Nat will evaluate bugs presented to him on their size, color and luster, and rarity, and will not return it to the player. If the bug sets a new first place record, Nat will award a random ordinary item of furniture, wallpaper, or flooring. If the bug sets a new first place record with a score of 80 points or higher, Nat will instead award a random item from the exclusive Insect set. As with Wild World and City Folk, the player does not necessarily need to catch bugs during the event itself, as they can submit bugs that have been caught beforehand.
Once the competition ends, an awards ceremony is held inside of the tent between 6 PM and 9 PM. The competitors in first, second, and third place will stand in the appropriate spots on a podium. If the player is in first place when the competition ends, they will be awarded a Gold bug trophy. If the player is in second place, they will receive a Silver bug trophy, and if they are in third place they will receive a Bronze bug trophy. If the player places in the top three but does not attend the ceremony, they will instead be mailed a letter of congratulations with their trophy attached.
If the player does not have a net, Nat will offer to sell one for 500 Bells. If the player has caught every bug and speaks to Nat during the Bug-Off, he will reward them with a Golden net.
Tournaments[edit]
Months | Valid entry | Possible rewards (above 80 points) |
Prizes |
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June and August or July and September |
Any bug |
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1st place: |
July and September or June and August |
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Unlike the Fishing Tourney, the Bug-Off only has a single ruleset that is used for each event. However, reward items from the Insect set are split into two predetermined groups which alternate between the months in which the Bug-Off is held. Other towns may offer the opposite group to the player's own town. It's possible for player to obtain all of the items in the same day by earning them in their own town, then travelling to a player's town which is offering the other group, and earning them there.
Villagers will never exceed a score 80 points, so a player who scores above this number is guaranteed to win first place. If the player time travels backwards while in first place, the top score will reset, and a random villager will be in the lead instead. Players can compete in the Bug-Off in another player's town, but their record will not be saved, and they cannot place on that town's leaderboard. This does mean, however, that a player can continuously submit bugs to Nat to earn items without the need to surpass their own previous record.
Bug-Off items in Animal Crossing: New Leaf
Item | Image | Type | Buy price | Sell price[nb 7] | Available from |
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Beetle chair | ![]() |
Furniture | Not for sale | ![]() |
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Bronze bug trophy | ![]() |
Furniture | Not for sale | ![]() |
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Caterpillar sofa | ![]() |
Furniture | Not for sale | ![]() |
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Cicada stereo | ![]() |
Furniture | Not for sale | ![]() |
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Firefly lamp | ![]() |
Furniture | Not for sale | ![]() |
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Gold bug trophy | ![]() |
Furniture | Not for sale | ![]() |
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Honeybee chest | ![]() |
Furniture | Not for sale | ![]() |
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Ladybug chair | ![]() |
Furniture | Not for sale | ![]() |
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Mini butterfly table | ![]() |
Furniture | Not for sale | ![]() |
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Silver bug trophy | ![]() |
Furniture | Not for sale | ![]() |
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Snail clock | ![]() |
Furniture | Not for sale | ![]() |
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Spiderweb clock | ![]() |
Furniture | Not for sale | ![]() |
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Stag-beetle chair | ![]() |
Furniture | Not for sale | ![]() |
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Butterfly wall | ![]() |
Interior | Not for sale | ![]() |
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Ladybug carpet | ![]() |
Interior | Not for sale | ![]() |
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Score calculation[edit]
Bugs that are presented to Nat are assigned a base number of points within a range determined by their rarity in the wild.
A bug's color and luster is randomly determined by Nat when shown to him, and can either be impressive, average, or dull. This will apply a multiplier to the base score, which is based on both his determination and the bug's rarity classification.
A bug's size is randomly determined when caught by the player. Another multiplier is applied based on whether the bug shown to Nat is larger or smaller than the average size for its species. Larger-than-average bugs will result in more points being awarded, while smaller-than-average bugs will receive less points.
In New Horizons[edit]
In Animal Crossing: New Horizons, the Bug-Off is now hosted by Nat's son Flick. Players are tasked with catching as many bugs as possible within three minutes. The player can participate as many times as they choose until the event ends at 6:00 PM; however, every entry after the first costs 500 Bells. While the timer is active, a generic message is displayed whenever a bug is caught as opposed to the player's normal catch quote, and the "Yes!" message that normally displays for a first-time catch will not be displayed either. Any Nets used will not break during the tourney, but they still sustain damage, and will break after the timer is up if their durability runs out during a round.
Bugs caught by the player are sent to a bug cage in the plaza rather than stored in their pockets. After scoring, the player can sell the cage's contents to Flick for 1.5 times the regular sell price at Nook's Cranny, and they are required to do so before they may participate again or swap their points for items. To keep any caught bugs, the player must select the bug from the bug cage before bulk-selling.
During the Bug-Off, villagers are seen trying to catch bugs with Nets (although they cannot actually catch them), and they will only talk about the event, meaning no items can be received or given, and no favors or Reactions can be received. Villagers who are in their houses will converse as usual, except in some cases they may remind the player about the Bug-Off when talked to, and then mention why they're not participating themselves.
Scoring[edit]
Players receive points based on the number of bugs caught, regardless of their rarity.
- 1 point per bug
- 2 bonus points if three or more bugs were caught
Multiplayer[edit]
There are additional benefits for participating in the Bug-Off during local or online multiplayer. During multiplayer, the 500 Bell entry fee is waived for all participants. In addition, there is a cooperative bonus: if 5 - 9 bugs are caught between the players, all players will earn 5 bonus points each (regardless of the number of bugs caught individually). If the total amount of bugs caught is between 10 and 14, all players will receive 7 points bonus. The highest possible bonus is 10 points, when total amount of bugs caught is 15 or more.
To begin a Bug-Off, only one player needs to ask Flick to start the timer. The timer will begin for everyone without prior warning, meaning that other players must prepare their nets and find the nearest bug close to them to catch. A Bug-Off can also only be started after everyone has cleared their cages (whether by selling to Flick or manually removing the bugs from it).
Players can join or leave the island during the Bug-Off, but the timer will not pause. If connection is lost and/or the island state is reset, it is possible for everyone to lose their catching progress.
Rewards[edit]
After obtaining 10 or more points, players can exchange their points for a "bug relic." The 13 possible items are distributed in a random order, after which the player will start receiving duplicate items. In addition, if the player obtains 100, 200, or 300 points over the course of the day, Flick will mail them a corresponding trophy (bronze, silver, or gold). This total is cumulative; points that have been traded in for relics still contribute to the total, and points from previous tourneys all count towards these goals.
Although the tourney ends at 6:00 PM, Flick will remain in the plaza until 8:00 PM, so points can still be exchanged for rewards until he leaves. After he has left, the bug cage remains in the plaza for the rest of the night, in case the player still needs to retrieve their bugs from there.
Bug-Off items in Animal Crossing: New Horizons
Item | Image | Type | Buy price | Sell price | Available from |
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Artisanal bug cage | ![]() |
Furniture | Not for sale | ![]() |
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Bronze bug trophy | ![]() |
Furniture | Not for sale | ![]() |
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Gold bug trophy | ![]() |
Furniture | Not for sale | ![]() |
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Silver bug trophy | ![]() |
Furniture | Not for sale | ![]() |
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Spider doorplate | ![]() |
Furniture | Not for sale | ![]() |
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Spider web | ![]() |
Furniture | Not for sale | ![]() |
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Termite mound | ![]() |
Furniture | Not for sale | ![]() |
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Toy centipede | ![]() |
Furniture | Not for sale | ![]() |
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Toy cockroach | ![]() |
Furniture | Not for sale | ![]() |
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Bug aloha shirt | ![]() |
Clothing | Not for sale | ![]() |
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Bug cage | ![]() |
Clothing | Not for sale | ![]() |
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Butterfly backpack | ![]() |
Clothing | Not for sale | ![]() |
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Ladybug umbrella | ![]() |
Clothing | Not for sale | ![]() |
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Butterflies wall | ![]() |
Interior | Not for sale | ![]() |
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Ladybug rug | ![]() |
Interior | Not for sale | ![]() |
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Bug wand | ![]() |
Tool | Not for sale | ![]() |
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In amiibo Festival[edit]
In Animal Crossing: amiibo Festival, the Bug-Off is held in the Board Game mode for one turn on the third Saturday of June, July, August, and September. During the event, Nat appears in the plaza and all spaces become either standard, silver, or gold net spaces. When landing on a net space, the player pulls out a net and catches a random bug; silver and gold net spaces have the player pull out a silver net and golden net, respectively, and give a higher chance of catching a rare bug. At the end of the turn, all players are ranked and rewarded Happy Points based on the rarity of the bug they caught:
- 1st place —
20 Happy Points
- 2nd place —
15 Happy Points
- 3rd place —
10 Happy Points
- 4th place —
5 Happy Points
Recurrence[edit]
Game | Recurrence | This year | Next year |
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2025 | 2026 | ||
Wild World | Jun 15, Jul 20 Aug 17, Sep 21 |
Jun 21, Jul 19 Aug 16, Sep 20 | |
City Folk | Jun 21, Jul 19 Aug 16, Sep 20 |
Jun 20, Jul 18 Aug 15, Sep 19 | |
New Leaf | Jun 21, Jul 19 Aug 16, Sep 20 |
Jun 20, Jul 18 Aug 15, Sep 19 | |
New Horizons |
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Northern: Jun 28, Jul 26 Aug 23, Sep 27 Southern: |
Northern: Jun 27, Jul 25 Aug 22, Sep 26 Southern: |
Gallery[edit]
City Folk[edit]
New Leaf[edit]
New Horizons[edit]
Bulletin board announcement
Flick's stand on a Southern Hemisphere island in December
The player catching a Banded Dragonfly during a Bug-Off in Animal Crossing: New Horizons
Trivia[edit]
- A dialogue error causes Flick to wrongly assume the following for the Bug-Off in the southern hemisphere:
- The February Bug-Off has Flick asserting that the next Bug-Off (including bug season) will continue onto March, which is invalid given the internal coding of when the Bug-Off takes place.
- The December Bug-Off has Flick declaring bug season to be over, despite the following month featuring many new bugs to catch, as well as another Bug-Off taking place.
Names in other languages[edit]
ムシとり大会 Mushi tori taikai |
Bug catching event | |
곤충채집대회 gonchungchaejibdaehoe |
Insect Competition | |
捕虫大赛 Bǔchóng dàsài |
Insect Contest | |
捕蟲大會 Bǔ chóng dàhuì |
Insect Contest | |
Турнир «Мастер сачка» Turnir «Master sachka» |
"Master of the net" tourney | |
Beestjesbeker | Bug cup | |
Insektikus-Turnier | Insect tourney | |
Caza de Bichos | Bug Hunt | |
Caza de Insectos | Insect Hunt | |
Insectosafari | Insect Safari | |
Insettomania | - |
Notes[edit]
- ↑ In Wild World only
- ↑ In City Folk, New Leaf, and New Horizons
- ↑ In New Leaf only
- ↑ In Wild World only
- ↑ In City Folk and New Leaf
- ↑ In New Horizons only
- ↑ Re-Tail sell price; if item can be sold at Timmy and Tommy's store, it is 80% of the sell price; if item can be sold to Leila at Tortimer Island, it is 5% of the sell price.
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Animal Crossing: Wild World | ||||||||||||||||||||||
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Animal Crossing: City Folk | ||||||||||||||||||||||
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Animal Crossing: New Horizons | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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