Bug Hunt

Bug Hunt is a gentle bug game about exploring outdoors with a net and a magnifier. Flip rocks, roll logs, peek under leaves and sweep through tall grass to find 24 common insects and other small creatures, from the ladybug and the honeybee to the praying mantis and the earthworm. Catch each one, take a close look, learn one true fact about it, then let it go. You can play Bug Hunt online free in your browser with no download, using a mouse, a keyboard or a touch screen.

How to play

You start in the backyard in spring with an empty field guide. Every place has a handful of spots to search, and each spot is home to different bugs.

• Search a spot: click or tap a rock, log, leaf pile, flower bed, web, twig, patch of grass, bare ground, reed bed, pond or porch lamp. A little sparkle shows that a bug you have not found yet may be hiding there.
• Catch it: when a bug turns up, the view zooms in. Aim your net and swoop. With a mouse, the net follows the pointer and a click swoops. On a phone, tap right on the bug. With a keyboard, use the arrow keys to aim and Space to swoop.
• Mind the swoops: you get three swoops for most bugs and four for the trickiest ones, shown in the top-left corner. If they all miss, the bug escapes. Nothing is lost, and you can go and find it again.
• Look and let go: every catch goes under the magnifier, with its name, what kind of animal it is and one short fact. Press Release and it goes back where you found it.

Bugs, places and seasons

There are four places to explore: the backyard, the meadow, the pond and the night garden. The meadow opens once your field guide has 3 bugs, the pond at 6 and the night garden at 10. Summer opens at 8 bugs and fall at 16. Bugs only turn up where and when they really live, so spring has caterpillars and earthworms, while fireflies only glow on summer nights.

The night garden is dark. Move your flashlight over a spot before you search it; on a touch screen, the first tap shines the light and the second tap looks. Moths gather at the porch lamp, and crickets and katydids hide in the grass and leaves.

Not every creature in the guide is an insect. Insects have six legs and three body parts. The garden spider is an arachnid with eight legs and two body parts, the pill bug is a crustacean, the centipede is a myriapod and the earthworm is a segmented worm with no legs at all. The magnifier tells you which is which.

How each bug moves

• Crawlers such as beetles, ants and pill bugs wander and change direction. Aim a little ahead of them. A startled pill bug rolls up into a ball, which makes it easier to catch.
• Jumpers (the grasshopper, cricket and katydid) sit still, then leap. A swoop while they are in the air misses, so swoop where they land.
• Bees hover at a flower, then zip to another one. Catch them while they hover.
• Dragonflies and damselflies hang in one place, then dart off too fast to catch. Wait for the next hover.
• Butterflies and moths flutter in loops. Follow them with the net.
• Fireflies can only be caught while they glow, and the earthworm only while it is above the soil.

Tips

• Follow the sparkles. They only appear on spots where a new bug can be found in the current place and season.
• Change seasons. If a spot comes up empty, try the same spot in another season. Use the field guide to see where to look for any bug you are missing.
• Swoop once, carefully. Catching 5 bugs on your first swoop earns the Steady net badge.
• Collect the badges. There are 8 to earn, including Beetle fan for all five beetles and Not an insect for the four non-insects.

FAQ

Is Bug Hunt free?

Yes. It is free to play with no account and nothing to install.

Are the bugs hurt?

No. Every bug is caught gently, looked at and then released right where it was found.

Does it save my field guide?

Yes. Your bugs, badges, place and season are saved in your browser, so you can come back and carry on.

Can I pause the game?

Press P or Esc, or use the Pause button. It also pauses if you switch tabs.

Does it work on phones and tablets?

Yes. Tap spots to search and tap the bug to swoop. The play area won’t scroll the page while you play.

Like small creatures? Try Ant Game to build an underground nest, or Bee Game to pollinate flowers and fill a honeycomb.