Bug Catching

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

The Player receives their first belt: Makeshift Belt and smoke bombs: Standard Smoke Bomb from Auni during the quest Welcome to Palia.

While progressing the Bug Catching Skill, the Player will be able to purchase equipment recipes from Auni to make better belts and bombs.

For more information, see Belts.

Mechanics

Players can find bugs roaming in different Biomes, hiding in or on Trees, under rocks, or inside Gatherables.

Bug Catching requires a Belt and Smoke Bombs.

Players can keep track of which unique bugs they've caught in the Accomplishments tab of the Player menu by looking at their Kilima and Bahari Bug Collector accomplishment. Caught bugs will be visible, and their description available upon hover; use this to see the locations and time of day those bugs can be caught again.

Multiplayer

Multiple players can work together to catch bugs. All participating players will be awarded the bug, and a chance at other drops.

Bonus: Players who are near their party members will receive loot for actions that their party members do, meaning that if one of your party members catch a bug and you are near by, you will also get the loot as well. Loot dropped in this way will be the same across each player. There is also a chance at earning double the loot!

Finding Bugs

A Star Quality Kilima Night Moth

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.

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, 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.

Catching Bugs

“	There are all sorts of critters to find in Palia, and you'll need traps to catch them! There are a few different kinds of smoke bombs, so try them all to see which works best for your mark.	”
–Almanac of Palia

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 button is released, the smoke bomb is thrown. There is a short cooldown before another smoke bomb can be used. Bugs can be alerted by nearby smoke bombs, so aim carefully!

Bug Behavior

A Garden Snail is startled by the Player

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 and dashing again.
Jumping	Ground insects that hop a short distance away from the player before pausing for several seconds and jumping again.
Idle	Insects that do not attempt to flee.

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

Star Quality Bugs

A Star Quality Common Blue Butterfly

Both normal and Star Quality bugs can be encountered throughout Palia, with the latter being denoted by a sparkling gold aura surrounding the creature. 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.

Success Rate

A successfully dazed Bahari Crab

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.

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.

Drops

• Flower sprouts have a chance of dropping from certain bugs in both Kilima Valley and Bahari Bay.

For more information, see Flowers.

• Plush versions of some bugs, which can be placed on the Housing Plot, can also occasionally be dropped by that specific bug:
  • Garden Ladybug Plush
  • Lunar Fairy Moth Plush
  • Proudhorned Beetle Plush
  • Lantern Bug Plush

Tips and Tricks

• Adjusting graphics quality Setting for Foliage to low, allows easier spotting of bugs, especially those that crawl on the ground.
• Clearing an area of commonly spawned bugs can increase the odds of a rare spawn showing up. This is especially helpful when trying to catch an area-specific bug, such as the Spotted Mantis. If conserving smoke bombs is preferred, simply run around the area and scare the common bugs away. In the case of certain bugs like the Common Blue Butterfly, catching them is the only way to clear them out.
• Learning how bug catching Consumables work and using them in combination with each other can improve chances of successful bug hunting.
  • To avoid startling bugs away, use a Smoke Candle.
  • A Buzzy Jar can help with locating both rare and epic bugs.
  • Using a Honey Lure will cause a large number of bugs to spawn within a small area.

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
Catching Frenzy	Catch 30 bugs.	40 Bug Catching Medals
Uncommon Catch	Catch 10 Uncommon rarity bugs.	30 Bug Catching Medals
Bug Scout Buddies	Catch 10 bugs with other players.	30 Bug Catching Medals

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

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

Update History

Build 0.180:

• Party members will now share loot for most gathering activities.

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.)

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.)

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.