Bug-Off 2023

Yesterday, I received Lobo’s goodbye letter in the mail.

Jeff, Well, I'm finally moving out of Forest tomorrow. If it makes you feel any better, you're the only reason I stayed as long as I did. Thanks, pal. Your pal, Lobo

Lately, I’ve been getting a bit annoyed by my grass wear along my bug-catching route, especially in the southwest corner of town. So I did something I haven’t done in years: I added a new path. If I can stick to it, the grass will regrow, and this area won’t look so barren.

My new path.

Last night, I was playing later than usual…so late that even Nook ‘n’ Go was closed. I did a little bug hunting, but I had to be more selective. No 1k or 2k bugs, and I even had to fight the urge to catch emperor butterflies. But this is what I ended up with:

A pocket full of rare, valuable bugs.
Each catch is worth at least 6,000 bells.

Today, I played again and I wanted to see what that haul was worth.

Tom Nook: Ah, for all of that, I'll give you 127,000 bells.

I didn’t sell all of them just yet, though. There was a Bug-Off today, so I headed over to town hall and gave Nat an elephant beetle.

Nat: Great Loch Ness! It seems you've brought me the rare and much-sought-after elephant beetle.

It scored 79 points, and that took the spot away from Grizzly’s 61-point jewel beetle. He rewarded me with a siphon. Interestingly enough, I found (and caught) another elephant beetle just 30 seconds after that chat with Nat!

After that, I made my rounds and spoke with my villagers. Many of them also had the Bug-Off on their minds.

Antonio: Know why? Today's the Bug-Off! It's my big chance to show off my sweet bug-wrassling skills.

At 6:00, I returned to Nat. He confirmed that my elephant beetle won the competition! He’ll send me my reward (a bug trophy) in the mail.

Nat: Oh, that was a fine, fine bug! Indeed, your mighty elephant beetle put a smile on this reptile's face.

My bank balance is almost at 56 million, which means I’m right on pace to meet my summer goal. There’s still more bug hunting to do, though! 🙂