In the beginning of July, Animal Crossing: New Horizons added over twenty new bugs. However, even the most hardcore players will find it difficult to catch them all at once, as these bugs appear in different locations at different times. Currently, the horned beetles are the most sought after due to their high prices and colorful appearances.
Unfortunately, these beetles spawn infrequently, so it's hard to find them to fill out one's Critterpedia. Also, once players do find them, it's all too easy to either scare the beetles off or miscalculate the distance to the trees these bugs are resting on. Luckily, there's an easier way to nab rare beetles with a method people may already be familiar with: creating a Tarantula Island.
The game's rarest beetles include the scarab (10,000 Bells), giant stag (10,000 Bells), cyclommatus stag (8,000 Bells), golden stag (12,000 Bells), giraffe stag (12,000 Bells), horned atlas (8,000 Bells), horned elephant (8,000 Bells) and horned hercules (12,000 Bells). The scarab beetle and giant stag spawn on trees from 11 PM to 8 AM, while the others only spawn on palm trees from 5 PM to 8 AM.
Players will need to use the Tarantula Island method, meaning they will need to purchase Nook Miles Tickets to go to a Mystery Island after 5 PM (or 11 PM depending on what you're trying to catch). All this Mystery Island needs is a beach with palm trees and the ability to spawn bugs. Once players get there, they will need to wreak ecological devastation by plucking flowers, breaking rocks, and chopping down both hardwood and fruit trees. Note that players must not cut down the palm trees or the beetles will have nowhere to spawn. Additionally, make sure you have enough branches and iron nuggets to make four Nets before chopping all the trees down.
After clearing the island (weeds are optional), eat some fruit and dig up the palm trees. Plant these palm trees on one beach and leave enough room between the trees to comfortably walk and swing your net. If the trees are too close, it may be difficult to see the beetles crawling on the trunks. Now, players can run around the island to scare off any bugs that spawn on the ground or in bodies of water to increase the chance of beetles spawning on palm trees. Unfortunately, this still spawns common bugs such as drone beetles, saw stags, miyama stags and horned dynastids, but this method still gives higher chances than aimlessly wandering around on one's own island.
The trickiest part can be capturing the bugs, as getting too close scares them off. Standing too far and swinging the Net won't capture them either and will scare them off. One useful trick is to gauge the distance by practicing on more common targets like drone beetles. After determining the correct distance, players can use a shovel to dig a hole to the side as a distance marker. There's another cheat players can use to get closer to the beetles without scaring them off. By gently tapping the R stick, the player will move forwards in minuscule movements that won't startle the beetle. This makes it easier to get closer without worrying about making them fly away.
It may take players around two to three hours to fill their inventory with rare beetles, but the effort is well worth it. Scorpions will also occasionally show up to spice things up for the adrenaline junkies. While this method doesn't guarantee the rarest beetles, it does provide a higher chance of finding that elusive golden stag.