Exploring the Accuracies of Insects in Animal Crossing: New Horizons

Some of the most enjoyable video games are the ones that take experiences and creatures from real life and show them in a more enjoyable way. This is certainly the case with one of the most popular recent video games, Animal Crossing: New Horizons, with its lovable animal characters and endless possibilities of critter-collecting. This cozy video game is all about building up a deserted island community with houses, shops, landscaping, and an expansive museum. Some of the most fun activities in the game involve catching the impressive list of critters on the island, including insects, arachnids, fish, and mollusks, as well as digging up fossils!

One factor to note is that this game uses the term “bugs” to encompass the group of insects, arachnids, mollusks, and arthropods. So when we say “bugs” here, it is not the technical scientific term. We understand this general terminology since it would be very involved to separate each species by their actual class. But do the animated insects share the same habits as their less fun, real life counterparts? Let’s dive into the insect-infested island experience and how it stacks up against the pests of our world!

The Owl, the Museum, and the Critterpedia

Blathers the Owl in his museum

The Art of Collecting Insects

The general act of catching insects is much easier in this game than it would be in real life, which is to be expected from a video game. All you have to do is slowly walk up to a bug and catch it with your net, then place the bug in your pocket (which we definitely don’t recommend actually doing) to save for donating or selling. There are 80 total “bug” species to collect, the most for any Animal Crossing game to date. The types of bugs that are outside depend on the time of day and current season, which is accurate to real life. Actual insects are ectothermic, so their activity level and productivity are determined by the temperature and state of their environment. This is why most species either hibernate or die off at the start of winter. But in the fictional world of Animal Crossing, there are always some bugs to be found.

Unfortunately, some of the bugs are not the kind you actually want to find, both in real life and in the game. There are three “dangerous” ones that occasionally make a surprise appearance here: wasps, scorpions, and tarantulas. Each one will attack the player if you are not quick enough with your net and catch it first. Two instances of wasp stings and one each of the tarantula and scorpion will cause your character to faint and wake up at their house! We’ll get into the accuracies of these three fiends later, but it is definitely realistic for certain species to be aggressive towards anyone who is close to them or their nest. Most virtual bugs will just disappear if you get too close to them, besides these defensive ones and the hopping insects that will hop into the water if it is nearby.

There are three main reasons to collect bugs and critters in this game, and they all make the risk of being stung worth it. The primary one is that you can sell anything you catch for bells, the main currency in the game. The more rare ones are worth a lot of bells, and it adds up very quickly if you spend time catching everything you see. The second reason is to donate to the aforementioned museum. You can only donate one of each species, which makes it easy to keep track of what has already been given. It’s fun to watch the impressive museum gradually fill up with your findings, and who doesn’t love the fun facts provided by Blathers? The third reason is a matter of preference, but it is to keep certain findings for yourself and display them in your tent or house. If you find a beautiful paper kite butterfly that you want to keep in its provided terrarium in your home, then go for it! With all that being said, catching any kind of bug in this game is a fun time, but are the actual bugs realistic?

Bugs, Bugs, and More Bugs

There are two general groups of bugs here: nocturnal and diurnal, just like real life. These groups seem to also be accurate to reality, which is a nice touch that makes parts of the game believable. Some nocturnal bugs include crickets, beetles, bell crickets, fireflies, giant water bugs, and man-faced stink bugs. The diurnal bugs are the usual suspects, such as butterflies, snails, dragonflies, walking sticks, flies, and cicadas. This is part of what makes New Horizons so interesting; you are likely to get a different bug-catching experience every time you play, whether it’s in the morning or at night.

Some of the potentially frustrating parts of bug-catching are also similar to real life. It is impossible to catch co*ckroaches, which can appear in your house or one of the island character’s houses. Roaches are notorious for evading capture and being difficult to eradicate in reality, so this is factual. Another similarity is how strategic you have to be when catching bugs. While many people don’t catch insects to keep in real life, there are levels of thinking and quick reflexes that have to work in order to squish certain species. In the game, the best way to consistently catch bugs is to slowly walk up to it (without getting too close) before swinging your net. Bugs in both the game and real life are skittish and often choose to run or fly away when a potential predator is near. Some of the rarest bugs are even more skittish, which makes them difficult to catch. These include the scarab beetle, banded dragonfly, Goliath beetle, and the stag beetles, which can be sold for 12,000 bells! Rare beetles don’t come around very often, especially if you have not caught many bugs yet, and this could be reflective of real life as well. It’s not every day that we walk by a rainbow stag beetle on the street, and it’s the same in the game.

The cartoonish appearance of these bugs seem to be overall accurate to their real selves, as far as we can tell. They are definitely larger than they really are, but that is a positive since it would be difficult to see them on screen otherwise. The only real inaccuracy that some knowledgable players noted is the mixup of names, which could potentially not be an isolated incident. The so-called Emperor Butterfly in the game actually looks just like the real Blue Morpho, but it shares a name with the also real Purple Emperor butterfly. How confusing! It would take a while to analyze all 80 bugs and compare them to their real versions, and most players opt to just enjoy the fun of catching animated bugs and bringing them to informative Blathers or lovable Timmy in Resident Services.

But How Accurate Are These Creatures?

Besides the specific details of every bug, are the general habits and actions of bugs accurate to real life? There have to be a certain amount of creative liberties taken when creating a game as aesthetic and cheerful as New Horizons, but there also seems to be some facts sprinkled throughout the island experience.

Stinging/Biting

As we mentioned earlier, the three dangerous bugs are wasps, tarantulas, and scorpions. They will either bite or sting the player, and any surrounding island characters will panic at the sight of such a ghastly creature. There are also mosquitoes during gameplay in warmer months, but their bites just leave your character with a little red spot and mentioning how it itches. This is all accurate in general, as some insects and arachnids will attack anyone who is close. They are not invincible and can be caught or squished, which is shown in the game if you’re quick enough with your net. As for the results of getting hurt by these bugs, that is definitely less accurate. It is very unlikely that a person will pass out and simply wake up at their house with just a couple of scrapes after being stung. The medicine that can be purchased from Timmy is also miraculously efficient, which begs the question of what exactly is in it. Nevertheless, these are some of the symptoms and occurrences of the real bites and stings of these pests:

Mosquitoes: only females bite when they need protein for eggs; potentially transmits diseases but are rare in civilizations; symptoms can include itching, redness, swelling, a rash, and increased allergy symptoms.
Wasps: can sting repeatedly and be in a swarm; attack when nest is disturbed (like the game); would not just fly away without reason (unlike the game); symptoms can include pain, swelling, redness, itching, and heat around the area.
Tarantulas: very rare bites and would rather run away first; symptoms can include swelling, itching, a rash, difficulty breathing, and potential shock that results in loss of blood flow.
Scorpions: sting from the venomous barb on their tail; symptoms can include nausea, pain, swelling, warmth, numbness, and increased heart rate.

We don’t recommend trying to catch these creatures in real life. There is a major risk of getting bitten or stung, as well as the question of what you would even do with them if you somehow did catch them. If you experience real symptoms after being bitten or stung by these pests, or any critter in general, please seek medical attention immediately. It may not be as fun as visiting Resident Services in New Horizons, but getting help quickly is the best way to ensure that infections do not occur.

Winter

If you play the game in the general winter months – December to March – the snow-covered ground makes it interesting when catching bugs. But there are still plenty to catch, as well as fish and sea creatures. This is great for a video game, but it definitely is not accurate to real life. Real insects and small critters either hibernate in their home, overwinter in their home or a new location, or just die off in the fall with the exception of the queen. Few species can survive in the snow and freezing temperatures, and they definitely are not as active as these fictional bugs are. If you do find real insects in the winter, they are likely dormant and in their resting positions. It is possible to have pests when it’s freezing outside, but it is just because they find your home to be the best and warmest shelter out there! But for how inaccurate this factor is, we understand why Animal Crossing has bugs and fish year-round. It wouldn’t be very fun to wander around the snowy island with nothing to do for a few months!

Locations and Times

Speaking of seasons, it’s clear that every season and month is filled with a variety of bugs to catch. Besides the general inaccuracy of bugs being active in winter, the game did get it right with the times of day. Several of them are available all day, but most of them have set hours hat they are active. The diurnal are generally sunrise to sunset, and the nocturnal are sunset to sunrise. This is accurate since some species naturally prefer to do all of their hunting and eating at night, which could be safer for them in general (besides notable nocturnal pests like bats). If all insects were diurnal, or all nocturnal, we would be overrun by them very quickly. The game is also fairly accurate in the specific locations of each bug. They are generally on trees, near flowers, on the ground, under rocks, in the water, near lights, or hiding in the tree branches. Insect species have all kinds of habitats and nesting preferences, which is why some love invading our houses for shelter while others want nothing to do with us. At least the bugs in the game are generally easy to catch!

Temperaments

Besides the biting and stinging bugs from earlier, the rest of the list has the same generic temperament and personality. Which is to say, not very notable. They don’t do much besides fly or crawl around, explore the flowers, and land on trees. Even the honeybees are peaceful and just buzz around the flowers, which is a great upgrade from their previously aggressive ways in the past games. The generally docile personalities of these bugs are actually pretty accurate to real life. If they are not threatened or agitated in any way, many insects will just go about their business and not do anything dangerous. If they do happen to come near us, it is just because there is food nearby, they are attracted to the color of our shirts, or they’re drawn to the scent of our perfumes and colognes. So the overall peaceful demeanor of the bugs in New Horizons is true to life, and makes catching them much more enjoyable.

Pest Control Prevents You From Collecting Pest Problems!

This addition to the Animal Crossing world is a fun and relaxing game that provides a great way to unwind after a long day by exploring an island full of fun characters and interesting discoveries. But do you know what isn’t fun? Dealing with a pest infestation! No matter which pest is invading your home or business, it is a frustrating and time-consuming experience that no one enjoys. Our team of experienced technicians are always here to provide all kinds of treatments and inspections for your pest control needs, whether it is preventative or responsive. Contact us today for more information on our EPA-approved services and to learn more about how we can solve your pest problems before you start to need a “Critterpedia” for your own home.

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Citations

Blathers. (n.d.). Animal Crossing Wiki. Retrieved September 1, 2022, from https://animalcrossing.fandom.com/wiki/Blathers

Bugs (New Horizons). (n.d.). Animal Crossing Wiki. Retrieved September 1, 2022, from https://animalcrossing.fandom.com/wiki/Bugs_(New_Horizons)

Critterpedia. (n.d.). Animal Crossing Wiki. Retrieved September 1, 2022, from https://animalcrossing.fandom.com/wiki/Critterpedia

Mayo Clinic Staff. (n.d.). Scorpion sting. Mayo Clinic. Retrieved September 1, 2022, from https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/scorpion-stings/symptoms-causes/syc-20353859

Tarantula spider bite. (2021, July 20). Mount Sinai Health Library. Retrieved September 1, 2022, from https://www.mountsinai.org/health-library/poison/tarantula-spider-bite

Video game / Animal Crossing: New Horizons Index (n.d.). TV Tropes. Retrieved September 1, 2022, from https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/VideoGame/AnimalCrossingNewHorizons