There are 12 types of bugs in The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword . Each bug has a favored type of environment and usually occurs in a certain type of place in a certain region. You primarily use bugs as ingredients when brewing potions.
So unless you’re interested in making high-end potions, you don’t need to mess with this part of the game. This section of the guide is a reference for players who want to make specific high-end potions.
While they aren’t entirely necessary in the main game, they can be fun to play around with and invaluable when you’re playing the game in Hero Mode.
While you can stop hunting treasures when you’ve obtained certain numbers, potions are consumables. That means what types of bugs you need and how many of them you need depend on how many potions you use and what types you’re interested in using.
You definitely won’t stumble upon the bugs you need to brew a particular potion by accident. To be serious about potion brewing, you need to be willing to go out and hunt down the bugs you want.
You also want to upgrade your Bug Net into a Big Bug Net before going on serious bug hunts, since the Big Bug Net makes it much easier to catch bugs successfully.
Deku Hornet
You only encounter Deku Hornets in the Deep Woods, where they build nests in trees. You can catch tons of them at once and usually have a lot more on hand than you really need. To catch Deku Hornets, just shoot down one of their nests. This disturbs an entire swarm of them, which lets you catch them nine at a time.
Blessed Butterfly
Blessed Butterflies can literally be found in every region of the game, but if you want to catch a lot of them quickly, it’s best to stick to Skyloft. There’s a road that runs from the Knight Academy to the plaza where you can usually find four to five Blessed Butterflies spawning regularly.
Gerudo Dragonfly
Gerudo Dragonflies spawn in Lanayru Desert, usually in groups of two. They’re relatively common spawns, so there’s no especially good part of the desert to go for hunting them. Simply running around the desert for a bit should give you ample opportunities for catching five or six.
Starry Firefly
Starry Fireflies can only be found in the sky at night. You can catch them in Skyloft or on the handful of islands in the sky where you spend the night. If you want to catch a lot of Starry Fireflies at once, spend the night in Beedle’s Airshop. The island where Beedle passes the night always spawns a pair of Starry Fireflies right next to each other.
Woodland Rhino Beetle
You can catch Woodland Rhino Beetles in a handful of locations in Faron Woods. The best by far is a vine-covered wall behind the Sealed Grounds. Two of the Rhino Beetles spawn in this location pretty consistently. You don’t use the Bug Net to catch these insects. Instead, dash-roll at the walls they climb on and knock them over.
Volcanic Ladybug
You can find Volcanic Ladybugs, usually in groups of two, throughout Eldin Volcano. There is no area where they spawn that is particularly more convenient than any other. Just investigate walls as you run through Eldin Volcano and try to pick up as many as you can at once.
Sand Cicada
Sand Cicadas make a very distinct sound. You always know when you’re near one by the sound of its high-pitched trilling chirps. You usually find them one at a time, clinging to the side of a wall. There’s one near the entrance of Lanayru Desert that’s particularly convenient and easy to catch.
Sky Stag Beetle
Sky Stag Beetles only occur in Skyloft, climbing along the trunks of trees. You can find one pretty consistently if you check the tree next to the pumpkin patch near Gondo’s place. It’s hard to catch lots of Sky Stag Beetles at once, since bugs in Skyloft don’t respawn unless you go to sleep until morning to refresh the map.
Faron Grasshopper
Faron Grasshoppers most frequently occur in the tall grass in Faron Woods. Just run around for a bit in the parts of Faron Woods nearest the exit from the Sealed Grounds and you should be able to catch four or five. While Faron Grasshoppers spawn one at a time, there are a lot of spawn points for them in Faron Woods.
Skyloft Mantis
Skyloft Mantises may be the rarest and most frustrating bugs to catch in the game. There are a few areas in Skyloft where they spawn. After you’ve finished Bateaux’s gratitude quests, they tend to appear more often. You can usually find a Skyloft Mantis in the pumpkin patch over by Gondo’s house.
Lanayru Ant
Lanayru Ants only occur in regions of Lanayru Desert, usually two or three at a time. If you explore the port area of the Lanayru Sand Sea, you can find a group that often boasts six or seven Lanayru Ants at once. A couple of quick trips here usually nets you Lanayru Ants to spare.
Eldin Roller
Extreme care is called for when catching Eldin Rollers, since they often run around your feet and end up getting themselves stepped on. There are a few good areas for finding Eldin Rollers in Eldin Volcano, but one of the best is the area outside the entrance to the Fire Sanctuary.
There’s a patch of dirt you can dig in there that fairly consistently yields two Eldin Rollers.