Animal Crossing Scorpions: How to catch, spawn and get Scorpion Island - or make your own
Watch out for the tail!
During the warmer months, you might be able to find a Scorpion running about your island in Animal Crossing: New Horizons.
Due to their status as a rare bug, you'll find yourself not just catching Scorpions for museum donation, but because they can earn you a good amount of Bells down at Nook's Cranny.
This page explains everything you need to know - from the basics of catching Scorpions to how to force spawn Scorpions yourself.
On this page:
How to find and catch Scorpion in Animal Crossing: New Horizons
Scorpion are a rare bug found in New Horizons during the evening hours, between 7pm and 4am, and between the months of May to October. Even then, they will only appear on your island at rare intervals.
Scorpions replace Tarantulas as the most dangerous bug on your island during the months they are available and, due to this, the method for catching one is very similar to how you catch a Tarantula.
As you approach a Scorpion, they will look towards you and raise their front claws. If you continue moving when these claws are raised, the Scorpion will lunge at you and attack. It is possible to catch a Scorpion as it runs towards you, but it's more likely that you will miss and be stung. If this happens, then you'll be knocked out and returned to your house, with the Scorpion fleeing into the night.
To catch a Scorpion successfully, approach it slowly with your net held up, which you can do by holding down the A button. Stop moving any time the Scorpion raises its claws, until its returned to normal and you can keep moving. Continue doing this until you're standing quite close to the Scorpion and, when the time is right, swing down your net to catch it.
If you want to see this method in action, check out the video below:
Scorpions price in Animal Crossing: New Horizons
Scorpions may be difficult to catch, but, like Tarantulas, they are definitely worth the hassle.
The selling price of a Scorpion in New Horizons is 8,000 Bells, which means that an inventory worth of Scorpions will net you a good amount of Bells.
Though you may rarely encounter a Scorpion on your island, out there, amongst the waves, there is an island full of Scorpions, which you might visit on a Mystery Island tour. If you don't, then you can always force Scorpions to spawn in special circumstances.
What is Scorpion Island, how do you spawn Scorpion Island and make the most of your visit?
'Scorpion Island' is the Scorpion version of 'Tarantula Island,' which is name given by the fan community to the Mystery Island you can visit which is home to a never-ending supply of Tarantulas.
If you want to go on a Mystery Island tour, then you must first exchange 2,000 Nook Miles for a Nook Miles Ticket, which can then be redeemed at the airport. The island you visit will be randomly selected, so there's no guarantee that you will land on Scorpion Island. Instead, you simply need to keep redeeming Nook Miles and using tickets until you get lucky.
Scorpion Island will, however, only spawn during the night, which is also when Scorpions can be found on your island, so don't waste your tickets during the day. Though you'll still be able to make a good amount of Bells, as many of these Mystery Islands are home to exotic fruit and flowers that are not found on your island.
When you finally land on Scorpion Island, you should fill your inventory with as many Scorpions as possible. We recommend that you throw away any unnecessary tools or materials that you might be carrying. If you do need any more tools, especially a new Net, then you can buy tools for 100 Nook Miles from the pilot.
Don't worry if you get stung by a Scorpion on a Mystery Island, because you'll wake up by the pilot, instead of at your house. This means that you can take as many risks as you like when catching Scorpions on a Mystery Island.
Though the 'Catching Scorpions' advice does still apply here, you must ensure that you don't become overwhelmed by the amount of Scorpions. One method is to dig a circle of holes around you and then capture the Scorpions when they come close by; just make sure you're standing too close to the edge, the Scorpions might still be able to reach you.
No matter how you decide to capture these deadly bugs, once you're inventory is full, you can visit Nook's Cranny and earn at least 200,000 Bells alone.
The Animal Crossing 2.0 update and Happy Home Paradise is here! We can help you with the new additions - including where to find Brewster, Gyroids, new villagers, ordinances, new fences, storage shed, new hairstyles, Froggy Chair, group stretching and Kapp'n boat tours. Cooking is now unlockable, so you need to know how to make both flour and sugar, as well as how to grow carrots, potatoes and tomatoes. Meanwhile, if you're new to Animal Crossing, our New Horizons tips can help with the basics. From the off, there's fish and bugs to catch, flowers and fruit to grow with. One long term goal is building your Happy Home Academy score. Finally, you need tools such as the new ladder and vaulting pole to fully explore.
How to force spawn Scorpions yourself to create your own Scorpion Island
If you really want to earn money from catching Scorpions in New Horizons, then you can always force these bugs to spawn on a Mystery Island. This is achieved in exactly the same way as Tarantulas were forced spawned.
First you need to clear everything from the island - dig up all the trees, pick all the flowers, smash all the rocks after eating fruit and anything else that might cause other insects to spawn. Next, dump all of these materials on the beach, as you don't need them anymore.
Now that the island is clear, it's an idle landscape for Scorpions to spawn. Before you start hunting, however, we recommend that you create a couple of safe areas, by digging a circle of holes. These will allow you to quickly escape a Scorpion if needed or trap a Scorpion if it happens to spawn there, which will allow you to easily catch it.
You will also need to scare any non-Scorpion bugs that might happen to spawn on the island, either by catching and then releasing them or running around the bug till they leave.
We recommend using the bamboo island as your base for creating a Scorpion island, because it doesn't take very long to clear and is all on one level, so you don't have to worry about cliffs. It also lacks any ponds or rivers, meaning you don't have to worry about scaring away any insects that live in the water, which, again, will make this task a lot easier.
You should be aware, however, that, like with Tarantula island, the three-tiered island type that doesn't spawn any insects will never work as a forced Scorpion island:
Ultimately, it should also be made explicit this method is both time intensive and tedious. It takes some time to clear the island, and the rates at which the Scorpion then begin to spawn isn't as fast as a natural Scorpion Island.
If you're desperate for cash, it's still an effective method if you're willing to put the effort in - though you might be better off searching for rare fish if the conditions are right.