In our Dinkum bugs guide, we'll explain bug catching strategies, our best tips and tricks, and where to find bugs in game.
The Basics of Bug Catching in Dinkum
Bug catching is one of the first skills you can acquire in Dinkum and if the algorithm is on your side, it’s a great way to make some money early in the game. Once John comes to the island you’ll need to buy a net from him, which you can do when he’s set up in the tent or once he opens his store.
Armed with your net, you can now catch any bug you come across! You’ll just need to get to the square behind your chosen bug and swing your net. The game’s aiming for many things, including this, is a bit finnicky, so you may have to try a couple of times. However, bugs won’t disappear if unsuccessfully caught, so no worries.
Dinkum Bug Catching Tips and Tricks
While bug catching might seem like a daunting task at first, we’ve got some tips and tricks to make things easier, as well as general helpful information.
- Keep your sound on while catching bugs. Some, like flies, are easier to hear than to see. If a bee’s nest falls from a tree you just cut down, the bees are also easier to hear than to see.
- Nets wear down, but not as quickly as pickaxes. Always keep a spare on you, especially when John’s shop is closed on Sundays.
- Bugs take up individual slots in your inventory and don’t stack, keep that in mind when you’re planning bug expeditions. However, if you take a bug and place it on the ground, you’ll see it stays inside a small container rather than flies or crawls away. This does not apply if you swap bugs with your inventory full or if you drop a bug with Q.
- Keep a few extra bugs around in case of characters requesting them. Bugs don’t go into storage, you’ll need to keep them in their individual containers, so it’s most feasible to keep the most common requests as spares.
List of Dinkum Bugs
Here's a list of Dinkum Bugs. There are currently 40 bugs in Dinkum in total.
Bee
- Habitat - The pine forests and the plains
- Time Found - Day
- Season - Spring/Summer
- Bee Sell Price: 680
Birdwing Butterfly
- Habitat - The tropics
- Time Found - Morning
- Season - Autumn
- Birdwing Butterfly Sell Price: 4,100
Black Cricket
- Habitat - Everywhere
- Time Found - Evening
- Season - Spring/Summer/Autumn/Winter
- Black Cricket Sell Price: 980
Blue Moon Butterfly
- Habitat - Everywhere
- Time Found - Morning/Day
- Season - Spring/Summer/Autumn/Winter
- Blue Moon Butterfly Sell Price: 290
Bogong Moth
- Habitat - Everywhere
- Time Found - Evening
- Season - Spring/Summer/Autumn/Winter
- Bogong Moth Sell Price: 260
Centipede
- Habitat - Everywhere
- Time Found - Evening
- Season - Spring/Summer/Autumn/Winter
- Centipede Sell Price: 2,220
Cockroach
- Habitat - Everywhere
- Time Found - Evening
- Season - Spring/Summer/Autumn/Winter
- Cockroach Sell Price: 154
Common Blue Tail
- Habitat - The pine forests and the tropics
- Time Found - Morning/Day
- Season - Autumn/Winter
- Common Blue Tail Sell Price: 772
Cricket
- Habitat - The plains and the bushlands
- Time Found - Evening
- Season - Spring/Summer/Autumn/Winter
- Cricket Sell Price: 1,348
Desert Scorpion
- Habitat - The desert
- Time Found - Morning/Day/Evening
- Season - Autumn/Winter
- Desert Scorpion Sell Price: 1,212
Duskhawker Dragonfly
- Habitat - The pine forests and the tropics
- Time Found - Morning/Day
- Season - Spring/Autumn
- Duskhawker Dragonfly Sell Price: 2,350
Emperor Dragonfly
- Habitat - The tropics and the plains
- Time Found - Day
- Season - Spring
- Emperor Dragonfly Sell Price: 4,172
Fly
- Habitat - Everywhere
- Time Found - Morning/Day
- Season - Spring/Summer/Autumn/Winter
- Fly Sell Price: 72
Fiddler Beetle
- Habitat - The tropics and the bushlands
- Time Found - Morning
- Season - Autumn/Winter
- Fiddler Beetle Sell Price: 2,400
Firefly
- Habitat - Everywhere
- Time Found - Evening
- Season - Spring/Summer/Autumn/Winter
- Firefly Sell Price: 860
Goliath Stick
- Habitat - The tropics and the pine forests
- Time Found - Morning
- Season - Winter
- Goliath Stick Sell Price: 3,330
Funnel Web Spider
- Habitat - The bushlands
- Time Found - Day/Evening
- Season - Spring/Summer
- Funnel Web Spider Sell Price: 1,020
Grasshopper
- Habitat - The tropics and the plains
- Time Found - Day
- Season - Spring
- Grasshopper Sell Price: 1,700
Harlequin Butterfly
- Habitat - Everywhere
- Time Found - Morning/Day
- Season - Spring/Summer/Autumn/Winter
- Harlequin Butterfly Sell Price: 2,121
Hercules Moth
- Habitat - Everywhere
- Time Found - Evening
- Season - Spring/Winter
- Hercules Moth Sell Price: 3,000
Huntsman
- Habitat - The desert and the bushlands
- Time Found - Day/Evening
- Season - Autumn/Winter
- Huntsman Sell Price: 3,552
Lacewing
- Habitat - The pine forests and the plains
- Time Found - Day
- Season - Spring/Summer
- Lacewing Sell Price: 1,680
Ladybird
- Habitat - The pine forests and the plains
- Time Found - Morning
- Season - Spring
- Ladybird Sell Price: 1,900
Largidae
- Habitat - Everywhere
- Time Found - Day
- Season - Spring/Summer/Autumn/Winter
- Largidae Sell Price: 780
Meadow Katydid
- Habitat - The plains
- Time Found - Morning/Day
- Season - Spring/Autumn
- Meadow Katydid Sell Price: 900
Monarch Butterfly
- Habitat - The bushlands and the pine forests
- Time Found - Morning/Day
- Season - Spring
- Monarch Butterfly Sell Price: 3,860
Paper Wasp
- Habitat - The plains and the desert
- Time Found - Day
- Season - Autumn
- Paper Wasp Sell Price: 990
Peacock Spider
- Habitat - The bushlands and the tropics
- Time Found - Morning
- Season - Spring/Summer/Autumn/Winter
- Peacock Spider Sell Price: 1,792
Pygmyfly
- Habitat - The desert and the plains
- Time Found - Day
- Season - Spring/Summer/Autumn/Winter
- Pygmyfly Sell Price: 1,672
Queen Bee
- Habitat - The pine forests and the plains
- Time Found - Morning
- Season - Spring/Summer
- Queen Bee Sell Price: 2,300
Red Back Spider
- Habitat - The desert
- Time Found - Day/Evening
- Season - Spring/Summer/Autumn
- Red Back Spider Sell Price: 1,552
Rhinoceros Beetle
- Habitat - The bushlands and the pine forests
- Time Found - Morning
- Season - Autumn/Winter
- Rhinoceros Beetle Sell Price: 1,930
Scarlet Jezebel Butterfly
- Habitat - Everywhere
- Time Found - Day
- Season - Spring/Summer/Autumn/Winter
- Scarlet Jezebel Butterfly Sell Price: 790
Stag Beetle
- Habitat - The tropics and the bushlands
- Time Found - Day
- Season - Spring
- Stag Beetle Sell Price: 4,100
Stink Bug
- Habitat - Everywhere
- Time Found - Morning/Day/Evening
- Season - Autumn
- Stink Bug Sell Price: 300
Swallow-tail Butterfly
- Habitat - The tropics
- Time Found - Day
- Season - Summer/Autumn
- Swallow-tail Butterfly Sell Price: 990
Tau Emerald Dragonfly
- Habitat - The plains and the bushlands
- Time Found - Day
- Season - Summer/Autumn
- Tau Emerald Dragonly Sell Price: 2,010
Tiger Moth
- Habitat - The bushlands and the plains
- Time Found - Evening
- Season - Autumn/Winter
- Tiger Moth Sell Price: 1,360
Trogid
- Habitat - The desert
- Time Found - Evening
- Season - Spring/Autumn
- Trogid Sell Price: 1,400
Ulysses Butterfly
- Habitat - The bushlands
- Time Found - Morning/Day
- Season - Spring/Summer
- Ulysses Butterfly Sell Price: 660
What You Can Do With Bugs in Dinkum
Now that you’ve caught some bugs in Dinkum, what next? There’s three main options you can choose from. Once John has a permanent store, visitors will start rotating in and out of the island, including Theodore who opens up a museum. Either at the tent or the museum, you can choose to donate one of each specimen to him and he’ll pay you 100 Permit Points for each.
Bugs can also be sold to John at his store or at the tent, for varying amounts of money.
Occasionally, characters will have requests for bugs that they will either leave on the Bulletin board or tell you if you go to them daily and ask if you can help with anything. This is why it’s a good idea to keep some spare bugs on hand, if you have the space on your island, and you’ll usually get much better rewards in terms of money or items from completing a request than you would from selling the bugs to the store.
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That's it for our Dinkum Bugs guide! If this helped you, check out more below!
Have a tip, or want to point out something we missed? Leave a Comment or e-mail us at tips@techraptor.net
Courtney Ehrenholfer is an aspiring novelist and screenwriter, and current journalist who greatly enjoys video games, especially those of the point and… More about Courtney
