Bug collecting

Bug collecting

A Sim releasing caught butterflies.

Bug collecting is an interaction first introduced in The Sims 2: Seasons, allowing Sims to catch butterflies and fireflies. The Sims 2: FreeTime allows Sims to catch bugs and add them to a collection. In The Sims Castaway Stories and the DS version, it is possible to gather bugs, which can be eaten, traded, or kept and collected. The Sims 3 also features collecting butterflies and beetles. The Sims 3: Into the Future features robotic bugs called nanites. In The Sims 4: Outdoor Retreat, bug collecting reappears once again in the vacation world of Granite Falls. In The Sims 4: Eco Lifestyle, bug collecting comes in a new form of composting and the consumption of home grown insects.

The Sims 2

Bug catching

This section describes features that are only available in The Sims 2: Seasons and The Sims Castaway Stories.

Butterflies may appear during the day and fireflies may appear in the evening. A Sim can try to catch butterflies or fireflies in a jar, though it may take several tries before they succeed. This is usually initiated by the player clicking on the tile where the butterflies or fireflies appear, though Sims may also do it autonomously. Once butterflies or fireflies are caught, Sims can view them inside the jar or release them. If they are left in the jar, they will eventually die, though this can be avoided by using a cheat.

Enter cheat mode:
type: ^ Ctrl+⇧ Shift+C
Turn the cheat on: bugJarTimeDecay on
Turn the cheat off: bugJarTimeDecay off
Notes: Enabling this cheat will make caught butterflies and fireflies live forever.

A Sim may have wants to catch butterflies or fireflies, but the want will not be fulfilled until the Sim actually catches one.

With FreeTime, trying to catch butterflies or fireflies will build nature enthusiasm, as will viewing captured ones. Also, Sims who catch butterflies might occasionally put them in their bug collection.

Toddlers can chase butterflies or fireflies, but cannot catch them. With Freetime, they gain nature enthusiasm from doing this.

Bug hunting

This section describes features that are only available in The Sims 2: FreeTime.

A Sim releasing caught fireflies.

There are three types of bugs a Sim can catch: beetles, butterflies and spiders. To have a Sim catch bugs, the player has to click on outdoor terrain and select the "Hunt Bugs" interaction. Sims will continue this action indefinitely but will not always catch anything. Once a Sim catches a bug it will be placed in their collection box, which can be found in their inventory. Players can view the collection by placing it on the lot and selecting "View". When Sims go hiking, they might catch a bug. If they already have that bug in the collection, they'll release it. A Sim must have at least level 8 enthusiasm in the nature hobby to be able to collect all of the bugs.

A Sim with nature enthusiasm may have a want to hunt bugs, but the want will not be fulfilled until the Sim actually catches a bug.

If a Sim hunts bugs for very long, it will have a strong effect on their hygiene. If a PlantSim hunts bugs, it will affect their water motive. Occasionally, a Sim who is hunting bugs will be chased by bees.

Bug collections

Image	Beetle	Image	Butterfly	Image	Spider
	Dapper Pinstripe Beetle		Jelly Butterfly		Striped Spindler Spider
	Polka Beetle		Peanut Butterfly		Grey Widow Spider
	Couch Potato Beetle		Empress Butterfly		Paratrooper Spider
	Gentleman Beetle		Blue Featherwing Butterfly		Mock Spider
	Jack Beetle		Margarina Butterfly		Itsius Bitsius Spider
	Prancer Beetle		Madame Butterfly		Hot Dog Spider
	Tri-Horn Greaves Beetle		Vampire Butterfly		Queen Charlotte Spider
	Ringo Beetle		Pygmalion Butterfly		Huntsperson Spider
	Mock Ladybug Beetle		Copper Pot Butterfly		Single-Fanged Betsy Spider
	Green Bottle Beetle		Socialus Butterfly		Teddy Bear Spider

Notes

• There is a bug that prevents Sims from finishing the bug collection. This was fixed in the FreeTime patch, but broken again in Apartment Life. This mod fixes the bug.

The Sims 3

Butterflies, beetles, and nanites appear as collectibles in The Sims 3.

This section is in need of additional information. You can help The Sims Wiki by expanding this section.

Butterflies

Image	Butterfly	Rarity	Value (§)	Catch Chance	EP	Where?
	Moth	Common	5	90%	&BG	Base Neighborhood
	Monarch Butterfly	Common	10	80%	&BG	Base Neighborhood
	Zephyr Metalmark Butterfly	Common	25	80%	&BG	Base Neighborhood
	Red Admiral Butterfly	Common	35	80%	&BG	Base Neighborhood
	Mission Blue Butterfly	Uncommon	50	80%	&BG	Base Neighborhood
	Green Swallowtail Butterfly	Uncommon	90	80%	&BG	Base Neighborhood
	Royal Purple Butterfly	Uncommon	150	80%	&BG	Base Neighborhood
	Silver-Spotted Skipper Butterfly	Rare	325	70%	&BG	Base Neighborhood
	Zebra Butterfly	Rare	650	85%	&BG	Base Neighborhood
	Rainbow Butterfly	Extraordinarily Unusual	1,080	90%	&BG	Base Neighborhood
	Bamboo Straight Swift Butterfly	Common	20	90%	&EP01	China
	Crypt Moth	Uncommon	65	90%	&EP01	Egypt
	Two-Tailed Pasha Butterfly	Uncommon	110	90%	&EP01	France
	Yellow Band Dart Butterfly	Rare	430	90%	&EP01	China
	Cleopatra Butterfly	Extraordinarily Unusual	1,200	90%	&EP01	Egypt
	Glowy Fly	Extraordinarily Unusual	1,500	90%	&EP01	France
	Green Will-O'-The-Wisp	Uncommon	80	90%	&EP03	Base Neighborhood
	Blue Will-O'-The-Wisp	Rare	250	90%	&EP03	Base Neighborhood
	Pink Will-O'-The-Wisp	Extraordinarily Unusual	820	90%	&EP03	Base Neighborhood
	Firefly albus	Common	10	90%	&EP06	Base Neighborhood
	Firefly fulvus	Common	10	90%	&EP06	Base Neighborhood
	Firefly pratinus	Common	15	90%	&EP06	Base Neighborhood
	Firefly luteus	Common	20	90%	&EP06	Base Neighborhood
	Firefly caeruleus	Uncommon	80	90%	&EP06	Base Neighborhood
	Firefly ruber	Uncommon	120	90%	&EP06	Base Neighborhood
	Firefly roseus	Rare	300	90%	&EP06	Base Neighborhood
	Firefly purpureus	Rare	450	90%	&EP06	Base Neighborhood

• 

  A Sim with the red admiral butterfly.

• 

  Ten types of butterflies in terrariums.

Notes

• Since Patch 31, butterflies will no longer spawn at night, and they will be replaced with fireflies.
• There is a glitch with the firefly collector challenge, in which the challenge could not be completed even if a Sim has caught all 8 types of fireflies. This is due to the fact that the firefly collector challenge is a duplicate of the butterfly collector challenge, which requires 10 types of butterflies to complete.
• It seems that the glitch of the fireflies can be fixed if the Sims move to a place like the University. Opening the list of trapped insects may show fireflies that have already been trapped as unregistered. Capture them again while you are inside the university compound and voila. (Bringing the collections assistant will help to locate the fireflies more easily)

Beetles

Image	Beetle	Rarity	Value (§)	Catch Chance	EP	Where?
	Cockroach	Common	1	70%	&BG	Base Neighborhood
	Ladybug	Common	10	80%	&BG	Base Neighborhood
	Japanese Beetle	Common	15	90%	&BG	Base Neighborhood
	Water Beetle	Common	30	80%	&BG	Base Neighborhood
	Light Beetle	Uncommon	40	95%	&BG	Base Neighborhood
	Rhinoceros Beetle	Uncommon	90	70%	&BG	Base Neighborhood
	Stag Beetle	Uncommon	175	75%	&BG	Base Neighborhood
	Spotted Beetle	Rare	400	80%	&BG	Base Neighborhood
	Trilobite Beetle	Rare	750	90%	&BG	Base Neighborhood
	Rainbow Beetle	Extraordinarily Unusual	1,400	70%	&BG	Base Neighborhood
	Cerambyx	Common	70	90%	&EP01	France
	Scarab	Uncommon	180	50%	&EP01	Egypt
	Red Assassin Bug	Rare	800	65%	&EP01	China
	Termite	Common	5	80%	&EP03	Base Neighborhood
	Spider	Common	15	70%	&EP03	Base Neighborhood
	Plasma Bug	Extraordinarily Unusual	3,400	70%	&EP09	Science research station (radiation experiment)
	Pill Bug	Common	5	80%	&EP11	Dystopian Oasis Landing
	Honeypot Ant	Uncommon	50	70%	&EP11	Dystopian Oasis Landing

Notes

• Plasma Bugs are a reference to the giant, plasma-shooting alien insects of the Starship Troopers movie.
• In real life, Cockroaches and Termites are not beetles but insects in the order Blattodea.[1]
• Assassin Bugs are in the order Hemiptera, or 'True Bugs', and are also not beetles.[2]
• Spiders are also not beetles, and are not insects at all, but rather Arachnids, a group that includes scorpions and mites.[3]
• Pill Bugs are a type of Woodlouse, and are land dwelling crustaceans, not insects.[4]
• Honeypot Ants are, you guessed it, not beetles, but insects in the Formicidae family.

Nanites

Nanites are robotic bugs featured in The Sims 3: Into the Future and they can be found in Oasis Landing. Nanites are essential components of some, but not all, trait chips, and some advanced chips require specific nanites

Unlike butterflies and beetles, Sims can design and create nanites; doing this requires Reventlov's Bot Workshop. Designing and creating a nanite increases the bot building skill. Nanites can also be reverse engineered. Reverse engineering a nanite lets a Sim learn how to design it, and may yield empty processors.

Image	Nanite	Rarity	Cost (§)	Value (§)	Catch Chance	EP	Where?
	Neutron Nanite	Common	18	20	90%	&EP11	Bot Workshop, Oasis Landing
	Caustic Nanite	Common	18	25	90%	&EP11	Bot Workshop, Oasis Landing
	Quantum Nanite	Common	22	30	90%	&EP11	Bot Workshop, Oasis Landing
	Scalar Nanite	Common	22	30	90%	&EP11	Bot workshop, Oasis Landing
	Lite Nanite	Common	26	35	90%	&EP11	Bot workshop, Oasis Landing
	Lepton Nanite	Common	30	40	90%	&EP11	Bot Workshop, Oasis Landing
	Tribble Nanite	Common	37	50	90%	&EP11	Bot workshop, Oasis Landing
	Heisenberg Nanite	Common	41	55	90%	&EP11	Bot Workshop, Oasis Landing
	Tunnelling Nanite	Uncommon	75	100	80%	&EP11	Bot Workshop, Oasis Landing
	Torque Nanite	Uncommon	78	105	80%	&EP11	Bot workshop, Oasis Landing
	Induction Nanite	Uncommon	86	115	80%	&EP11	Bot workshop, Oasis Landing
	Polar Nanite	Uncommon	86	115	80%	&EP11	Bot Workshop, Oasis Landing
	Thermo Nanite	Uncommon	93	125	80%	&EP11	Bot workshop, Oasis Landing
	Condsensor Nanite	Uncommon	67	90	80%	&EP11	Bot Workshop, Oasis Landing
	Entropic	Rare	206	275	75%	&EP11	Bot workshop, Oasis Landing
	Dispersion	Rare	187	250	75%	&EP11	Bot workshop, Oasis Landing
	Prismatic	Rare	262	350	75%	&EP11	Bot workshop, Oasis Landing
	Damping	Rare	236	315	75%	&EP11	Bot workshop, Oasis Landing
	Optic	Rare	232	310	75%	&EP11	Bot workshop, Oasis Landing
	Uber	Rare	412	550	75%	&EP11	Bot workshop, Oasis Landing

The Sims 4

The Sims 4: Outdoor Retreat

A Sim collecting insects from the ground.

Insect collecting returns in The Sims 4: Outdoor Retreat and works similarly to The Sims 3. Sims can collect different types of insects and then have them as decorative items (giving +3 environment score), or sell them to gain more Simoleons. Sims can also roast insects over a campfire, or prepare shish kebabs or gumbo with them on a grill. Another way to consume insects would be combining them with plants to form herbal remedies through the use of the herbalism skill. Insects can be only found in Granite Falls, though some are exclusively spawned in the deep forest areas of the world such as Hermit's House or the Granite Falls Forest. Insects can also appear at different times of the day or night and some are exclusive to either of those time periods. The collection can be quite difficult to complete due to the high number of common insects and the time-of-day mechanic.

Insects can be spotted on the ground or in mid-air. A lot of them may be quite hard to track down at first as they can blend in with the environment, but catching them should be easy. A good way to spot a group of insects would be to keep the camera near the ground level on normal time speed. Pausing the game may not be beneficial, as the insects may be even harder to see when standing still. Fireflies will glow during the night, making them more easily recognizable. When a Sim tries to catch an insect, there is a chance that the insect will bite, giving the Sim an uncomfortable moodlet.

List of insects

Image	Name	Rarity	Value	Collecting time	Location
	Bee	Common	§4	Morning, Noon, Evening	Campground, Forest, Hermit's House
	Blue Morpho Butterfly	Common	§4	Morning, Noon, Evening	Campground, Forest, Hermit's House
	Fire Ant	Common	§3	Morning, Noon, Evening	Campground, Forest, Hermit's House
	Firefly	Common	§4	Night	Campground, Forest, Hermit's House
	Jezebel Butterfly	Common	§3	Morning, Noon, Evening	Campground, Forest, Hermit's House
	Katydid	Common	§4	Morning, Noon, Evening	Campground, Forest, Hermit's House
	Ladybug	Common	§4	Morning, Noon, Night	Campground, Forest, Hermit's House
	Luna Moth	Common	§4	Morning, Noon, Evening	Campground, Forest, Hermit's House
	Mosquito	Common	§4	Morning, Evening, Night	Campground, Forest, Hermit's House
	Stink Bug	Common	§4	Morning, Noon	Campground, Forest
	Termite	Common	§3	Noon, Evening	Campground, Forest, Hermit's House
	Dragonfly	Uncommon	§15	Noon	Campground, Forest, Hermit's House
	Jewel Beetle	Uncommon	§15	Morning	Campground, Forest, Hermit's House
	Locust	Uncommon	§15	Morning, Noon, Evening	Campground, Forest
	Mantis	Uncommon	§15	Morning, Noon, Evening	Campground, Forest, Hermit's House
	Monarch Butterfly	Uncommon	§15	Morning, Noon, Evening	Forest, Hermit's House
	Walking Stick	Uncommon	§12	Noon	Hermit's House
	Dragon Dragonfly	Rare	§600	Noon	Hermit's House
	Dust Spirit	Rare	§200	Evening, Night	Forest, Hermit's House
	Rainbow Firefly	Rare	§75	Night	Forest, Hermit's House
	Will-o-the-Wisp	Rare	§150	Night	Forest, Hermit's House

Reward

After collecting all the insects the player receives the "Entomologist Delight" award, which is a plaque that can be hung on a wall. Collecting all 21 insects alongside the five fish added in Outdoor Retreat in Granite Falls will also unlock the "Critter Catcher" achievement.

Image	Description	Value
	To bee or not to bee! We recognize your dedication and hard work by presenting you with this award.	0§

The Sims 4: Eco Lifestyle

Mitey Mitey Home - Insect Farm
The Perfect place for your Curious endeavor to prosper! This unit is built from perfectly suited insect family materials that will make your little critters abuzz from joy that will have you busy beezing.
Game	The Sims 4: Eco Lifestyle
Buyability	Build mode
Price in game	§165
Size	2x2

In The Sims 4: Eco Lifestyle, Sims can farm their own insects. Insects will need to be fed and nurtured. Sims can collect Bio Fuel and insects for food every 24 hours. Occasionally, insects will produce Super Fertilizer.

All meals produced from insects are unsuitable for vegetarians.

List of insects

• Beetles (§15) 
  • Produces Beetle Nuggets (Main ingredient in Beetle Juice, which requires level 10 mixology skill)
• Bombardier Beetles (§35) - Requires level 5 cooking or level 9 mischief skill
  • Produces Bombardier Beetle Nuggets (Main ingredient in Bombardier Beetle Stir Fry)
• Crickets (§15)
  • Produces Cricket flour (Main ingredient in Popcorn Crickets and Cricket Meal)
• Grubs (§15) 
  • Produces Grub Meal (Main ingredient in Grub Dogs)

This section is in need of additional information. You can help The Sims Wiki by expanding this section.