Bug Catching

Table of Contents

Bug Catching is a Skill in Palia which allows the Player to catch Bugs with Smoke Bombs.

The Bug Catching Guild representative in Kilima Valley is  Auni.

“	This skill requires you to have good aim, patience, and a certain degree of stealth. Insects are crafty critters that are easily alerted to your presence. You will need to locate, approach, and catch insects with ball-shaped traps. Auni will assess your skills and grant you upgraded skill badges to help you catch those extra-rare crawlies!	”
–Almanac of Palia

Introduction

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Mechanics

Overview and Controls

Players can find bugs roaming in different Biomes or hiding in trees, under rocks, or inside gatherables.

Catching Bugs

A player taking aim at a Garden Mantis

Catching bugs requires a Belt and ammo in the form of Smoke Bombs. As players level up their Bug Catching skill, Auni will sell them crafting recipes for higher tier Belts, as well as new smoke bombs with unique effects. These include slowing down fast-moving insects, not startling bugs on impact, and even a smoke bomb that is guaranteed to catch whatever bug it hits.

Catching bugs requires holding down the left mouse button ( on Switch) to aim. Upon doing this, the camera is zoomed in and a reticle appears to show where the player is aiming. This is only useful up-close, however, as players will need to account for the trajectory of the smoke bomb when aiming for bugs far away. When the left mouse button ( on Switch) is released, the smoke bomb is thrown. There is a short cooldown before another smoke bomb can be used. Bugs can also be alerted by nearby smoke bombs, so aim carefully!

Finding Bugs

A Star Quality Common Blue Butterfly

A Star Quality Kilima Night Moth

A Garden Snail is startled by the player

Many bugs can only be found in specific locations at certain times of day, with others only spawning under other conditions such as Mining or Foraging in various areas. Players can keep track of which unique bugs they've caught in the Accomplishments tab of the menu, as well as see the locations and time of day those bugs can be caught again.

Many bugs are also quite small and might be difficult to spot in the grass or forests of Palia, requiring players to have a keen eye. Most bugs are quite skittish, however, and will notice you even if you don't notice them! An exclamation mark (!) will appear above the bug's head, a sound cue will play, and the insect will pause for a moment. After being startled, bugs will flee from the player for several seconds before eventually disappearing altogether if they are not caught.

Behavior

Bugs can be grouped into five main categories that describe their movement patterns as they flee:

Running	Ground insects that move along the ground in a straight line away from the player, but may change direction when encountering obstacles.
Flying	Airborne insects that fly in a straight line away from the player, but may change direction when encountering obstacles.
Dashing	Flying insects that quickly dash in a straight line away from the player before pausing for several seconds.
Jumping	Ground insects that hop a short distance away from the player before pausing for several seconds.
Idle	Insects that do not attempt to flee.

Bugs in the same category may move at different speeds, with rarer insects generally being faster than others.

Spawning

Different insects will spawn in different areas and at different times of day (morning, day, evening, and night.)

Catch Rate

Upon hitting a bug, it will be momentarily stunned. During this time, it is immune to the effects of additional smoke bombs. Depending on what tier Belt the player is using, the rarity of the bug, and whether it is basic or Star Quality, there is a chance the bug will be dazed and the player will be able to collect it:

	Common	Common	Uncommon	Uncommon	Rare	Rare	Epic	Epic
Makeshift Belt	100%	60%	40%	20%	20%	10%	10%	5%
Standard Belt	100%	70%	50%	30%	30%	15%	20%	8%
Fine Belt	100%	80%	60%	40%	40%	20%	30%	10%
Exquisite Belt	100%	90%	70%	50%	50%	25%	40%	15%

A successfully dazed Bahari Crab

If the smoke bomb was unsuccessful and the bug was not dazed, it will continue to flee, although the time remaining until it disappears will be reset. Many bugs will either change the direction in which they were fleeing or dart away a short distance after the stun wears off, so it is important to have additional smoke bombs ready.

When successfully dazed, a ring of circling stars will appear above the bug's head. At this point, players can walk up and collect it. Dazed bugs will remain that way for several minutes before eventually disappearing, so players do not need to worry about collecting them quickly if they need to make room in their inventory or spot another bug they would like to catch.

Rare bugs also grant the player anywhere from 0 - 7 Silk Thread, with Epic bugs granting anywhere from 0 - 14. Common and Uncommon bugs do not grant any Silk Thread when caught.

Star Quality Bugs

Both normal and Star Quality bugs can be encountered throughout the world, with the latter being denoted by a sparkling gold aura surrounding it. This glow is sometimes difficult to see during the day, but is much more apparent in the dark. For this reason, many players prefer going Bug Catching at night. Star Quality bugs have a lower catch rate than their normal counterparts, but sell for more Gold and are able to be placed on the player's Housing Plot in a small display case or, once the player has saved up enough Medals, the Bug Catcher's Insectarium.

Multiplayer

Multiple players can work together to catch bugs. All participating players will be awarded the bugs.

Accomplishments

Title	Requirements	Reward
Advanced Bug Catcher	Reach Bug Catching level 10	15 Renown, Bronze Bug Catching Trophy
Expert Bug Catcher	Reach Bug Catching level 25	30 Renown, Silver Bug Catching Trophy
Master Bug Catcher	Reach Bug Catching level 50	60 Renown, Gold Bug Catching Trophy
My First Rare Bug	Catch a rare bug	5 Renown
My First Epic Bug	Catch an epic bug	15 Renown
Kilima and Bahari Bug Collector	Catch every bug	30 Renown, Kilima Bug Collector's Display Box
Master Kilima and Bahari Bug Collector	Catch every bug at star quality	60 Renown, Star Kilima Bug Collector's Display Box
Catch Bugs	Catch bugs	210 Renown

Guild Store

Item	Cost	Skill Level
Sneaky Smoke Bomb Recipe	100	2
Standard Belt Recipe	250	3
Sticky Smoke Bomb Recipe	500	4
Smoke Candle Recipe	1,000	5
Fine Belt Recipe	1,500	6
Honey Lure Recipe	2,000	7
Buzzy Jar Recipe	2,500	8
Exquisite Belt Recipe	3,000	9
Supreme Smoke Bomb Recipe	3,000	9
Sneaky Smoke Bomb  x20	4	10
Sticky Smoke Bomb  x20	4	10
Supreme Smoke Bomb	12	10
Smoke Candle	5	10
Honey Lure	75	10
Buzzy Jar	50	10
Bug Catcher's Plaque	140	10
Butterfly Lights Wallpaper	220	10
Gardenia Flower	15	10
Blue Hydrangea Flower	15	10
Rose Flower	10	10
Anemone Flower	10	10
Grimalkintail Flower	10	10
Tulip Flower	10	10
Chapaatail Flower	7	10
Lavender Flower	10	10
Forsythia Flower	10	10
Tiger Lily Flower	7	10
Bug Catcher's Lure	560	15
Bug Catcher's Insectarium	980	20

Associated Equipment

Belts

Makeshift Belt

Standard Belt

Fine Belt

Exquisite Belt

Smoke Bombs

Standard Smoke Bomb

Sneaky Smoke Bomb

Sticky Smoke Bomb

Supreme Smoke Bomb

Consumables

Smoke Candle

Honey Lure

Buzzy Jar

Weekly Challenges

Weekly Challenges are skill-related Accomplishments that a player can complete once weekly upon reaching Bug Catching Level 10. A player can complete up to 3 Weekly Challenges for Bug Catching each week, awarding a total of  100 Bug Catching Medals.

Weekly Challenges are currently the same every week, and reset every Monday at 4:00 AM UTC. Progress from uncompleted Challenges will carry over and count towards the following week.

Title	Requirement	Reward
Catch Bugs	Catch 30 Bugs	40 Bug Catching Medals
Catch Uncommon Bugs	Catch 10 Uncommon Bugs	30 Bug Catching Medals
Catch Bugs Together	Catch 10 Bugs With Other Player(s)	30 Bug Catching Medals

Update History

Patch_Notes/Build 0.170:

• Sticky Smoke Bombs now work to capture insects in multiplayer mode, allowing everyone to catch the bug after stunning it!
  
  • (Note: Previously since patch 0.166 it was not possible to capture.)

Patch Notes/Build 0.167:

• Insects now collect in stacks of 30 instead of 5 in your inventory slots.
  
  • (Note: Starred insects and non-starred insects are stacked separately.)

Patch_Notes/Build 0.166:

• Insect Catching - Smoke Bombs now have an "Area of Effect."
  
• We wanted to make it a little more forgiving when aiming at insect targets, so now smoke bombs will explode on impact in a small AoE.
  
• This means it is now possible to catch multiple bugs with just one bomb if they are close enough in range.