Tips on catching the rare beetles?

[Cetoddle769]

I need some tips on catching the rare beetles that only spawn at night. How do I catch them without scaring them away? I was so angry a few weeks ago when I saw the Goliath Beetle and slowly crept up on it, but the thing was like haha get rekd and it flew away. It was on a DIY Goliath Beetle island and my nets kept breaking from despawning the butterflies and I kept getting bit by mosquitoes. I finally caught one 20 minutes later but I was running out of nook miles at that point and could only afford two more flimsy nets. I spent the next three minutes going at one inch per hour in order to catch it. I was sweating the whole time. I’m not looking forward to staying up late at night (especially for the giant stag why does it have to start spawning an hour before midnight) and seeing something rare like the Horned Hercules only for it to get scared away because I made the slightest noise (like me breathing too loud). How do I catch these bugs? Do I do what I did for the Goliath Beetle? Or is there a better way?

 

[Suguri]

You don't have to go at one inch per hour the whole time, even though you'll have a better time catching a bug by sneaking up to it. Your distance from the tree should also be about one and a half tiles away. For reference, I practiced "catching" and buried some stuff to represent the tiles. When you're catching a real bug, you have to practice estimating your distance (no need for buried tiles!)

These bugs are not easy to capture, so I hope my tips help you out since I used them to successfully catch the Goliath beetle. If you still fail to catch any of the rare beetles though, don't let that stop you. Just keep practicing and you will eventually make it. Good luck, and you gotta believe!

 

[TN4U]

This answer isn't incredibly great, but you simply have to remain calm and patient as you approach some of the beetles slowly. Yes, it's tedious, but this is a mechanic that has been in all the games in different ways. Only in this game did they introduce the sneak mechanic when readying a net and approaching bugs slowly. Essentially, if you grab your net and go into sneak mode by holding A, slowly push forward on the left analog stick, don't increase your sneak speed too much, and release A when your positioning is right. Remain calm, as any sudden movements or increase in sneak speed will scare away the rare beetles. Also, don't run near palm trees in general if you're trying to bug-hunt. That scares off many beetles, and most of the time, you won't even get a chance to stop and ready yourself by the time you notice one.

The more high-valued beetles, such as the Golden Stag, are more sensitive to sneak speed than others. Such bugs will have to be approached to at crawl speeds, and you cannot get incredibly close, even if you think your net will perfectly swipe down and grab it. What I found that works when swinging the net is to swing a little bit further away than usual from the tree you're aiming at. The game, most of the time, will register that you're catching the bug and you'll get it. If you swing too close, you'll hit the trunk and the beetle will fly away. Try to sneak towards it from the front at a slight angle, and avoid sneaking from the extreme sides whenever possible.

While you cannot determine if and when beetles may spawn, try to place your palm trees in areas where you can easily walk around and get into position, while at the same time avoiding getting so close as to scaring beetles off before you get any opportunity to catch them. Remember that you can also place sand paths on the grassy areas on your island and grow palm trees that way if you find that to be easier. Just be careful of curious villagers.