What’s New This Month in Animal Crossing: New Leaf – July

Welcome, New Leaf fans. You have your game, and have probably already put several hours into it. Maybe you’re completely embarrassed by the amount of time you’ve spent in the game already, and are looking for ways to efficiently do what you need to do this month, so you can move on to other things… or maybe so you can just troll around on Tortimer Island some more without any lingering sense of guilt. Well, never fear, as I’ve compiled a list of things that you can do in July in order to make sure you have all your pelicans in a row. Ladies and gentlemen, here’s what awaits you in July.

Some general tips:

• Donate the first (new) bug/fish/deep-sea creature that you catch to the museum. Then you don’t have to worry about whether you’ve donated or not. Remember that donating items to the museum has definite perks. For instance, once you donate thirty bugs to the establishment, you’ll be able to purchase the silver net, which makes it easier to catch bugs. Once you’ve donated all bugs to the museum, you’ll be able to get the gold net, which makes it even easier. Similar benefits are available for fishers.
• The rarer the specimen, the harder it is to catch that specimen. If you’re hunting bugs, hold A down and barely move your circle pad in the direction you want to go to sneak. Don’t rush up on beetles and the like, or else you’ll be sure to scare them away.
• The more expensive creatures are great for stocking up on bells. Many people have been going to the island at night to fill up their boxes with beetles, returning to sell them for thousands of bells. It’s a pretty good strategy if you’re saving up for something or you have a mortgage to pay off. Or if you just like sitting on oodles of bells, I suppose.

The official Animal Crossing: New Leaf website has only one event listed for this month:  The monthly Bug-Off is on July 20. You’ll be able to get the Palm Tree Lamp during this month if you go talk to Pelly or Phyllis in the Post Office on Main Street. You’ll just ask about a present, she’ll look online, and give you the lamp to show off in your house, which has hopefully gotten substantially bigger. If you’re looking for the Best Buy exclusives, the Cat Tower is available June 30 – July 13, the Suitcase is available July 14 – July 27, and the Double Neck Guitar is available July 28 – August 10. Don’t forget, of course, that some of your residents may have July birthdays. Go to their house on that day to celebrate with them. If you bring a present, you might just get one in return in your mailbox the next day.

There’s plenty to look for in the great outdoors. On the bug catching front, you have several new bugs to look for.

• The banded dragonfly, worth 4500 bells, can be found flying around from 8am – 5pm. They’re somewhat rare and fly somewhat erratically, so your best bet is swinging when they’ve paused. You won’t find these guys on the island, except during tours.
• The brown cicada, worth a measly 200 bells, will be found on tree trunks from 8am – 5pm. They’re incredibly common, probably the most common cicada in the game, in fact. It makes a kind of a buzzing/chirping noise, as other cicadas do.
• The cicada shell can be found on tree trunks from all day, and is also incredibly common. It is worth only 100 bells.
• The evening cicada is very common, worth 550 bells, and can be found on tree trunks from 4pm – 7pm. It can also be found outside of these times when it’s raining.
• I got the fruit beetle from the island in June, but official listings have it showing up starting this month on tree trunks in your town. You’ll be able to find them all day. Be careful not to confuse this with the scarab, which is worth a lot more. Scarabs are gold, while fruit beetles are green.
• The giant beetle is worth quite a pretty bell, at a nice sum of 10,000 per beetle. It’s relatively rare and found late at night, from 11pm – 8am, on tree trunks.
• The giant cicada, worth 500 bells, will be found on tree trunks from 8am – 5pm. Despite its low selling price, it’s pretty rare.
• You’ll find the grasshopper hopping around on the ground from 8am – 5pm. They’re pretty common, so they’re only worth 160 bells.
• The jewel beetle can be found on tree trunks from 8am – 5pm. They’re worth 2,400 bells and are relatively rare.
• The longhorn beetle can be found on tree stumps (cut a tree down with an axe to get a stump) from 11am – 6pm. They’re worth 260 bells and are fairly uncommon.
• If you haven’t gotten the miyama stag from the island, you’ll be able to find them all day on tree trunks starting this month. They’re worth 1,000 bells each and are fairly common, so they’re good for making a quick buck if you’re not saving up for anything huge.
• The robust cicada can be found on tree trunks from 8am – 5pm . They’re fairly common and only worth 300 bells.
• I nabbed a saw stag from the island in June, but official sources have it listed as being found all day starting in July. They’re worth 2,000 bells, and like many other beetles, are found on tree trunks, though they’re fairly uncommon.
• A friend of mine caught a scarab beetle on her island in June, but you’ll find them on tree trunks starting this month from 11pm – 8am. These beetles are rare and very skittish. They’re also worth 6,000 bells a pop. Be careful not to confuse this with the fruit beetle, which is worth a lot less. Scarabs are gold, while fruit beetles are green.
• Scorpions are found walking around on the ground from 7pm – 4am. They’re worth 8,000 bells, but be careful: they attack! Make sure that you approach them when they’re calm. Walk incredibly slowly, wait until you’re in a good position, and swing at them with your net. If you miss, they’ll get angry and sting you, and you’ll black out and wake up in front of your home. They will generally appear in the same area every time, but they are rare.
• The walker cicada is worth 400 bells and is found on tree trunks from 8am – 5pm. They’re fairly uncommon.
• You can catch a walking leaf by looking on the ground from 8am – 5pm. They’re worth 600 bells but are pretty rare. They’re a bit easier to find during the rain.
• I caught a walking stick on the island in June, but official sources have it listed as being a July – November bug. These fairly uncommon bugs are worth 600 bells and can be found on tree trunks.

If you haven’t caught the honeybee yet, this is your last chance for a while, as the little critter won’t be available starting next month. You’ll find them near flowers; they make a noise. Remember that these are different from the bees you can catch by shaking them out of trees. Those bees sting you and make your face look all ugly, the honeybee does not.

Are you more the fishing type? Here’s what you can look forward to starting in July:

•  The arapaima is a river fish worth 10,000 bells, found from 4pm – 9am. If you look for huge shadows, you should be able to narrow down your search.
• The sweetfish is a medium-sized river fish worth 900 bells. You can find it all day.

If you haven’t caught a squid or tadpole by now, this month is the last month you can do so for a while. Squid have medium-sized shadows and are found all day in the ocean; they’re worth 400 bells. Tadpoles have tiny shadows and are found in ponds all day. They’re worth 100 bells.

Last but not least, we have diving. Here are the deep-sea creatures available starting in July:

•  The horseshoe crab becomes available this month. It’s worth 1,500 bells and you can find it between 9am and 4pm. You can narrow your search for it by looking for slow-moving medium-sized shadows.

If you haven’t caught an octopus or seaweed (feels weird to say you “catch” seaweed, but whatever), this month is your last chance for a while. The octopus is a fast-moving medium-sized shadow that’s relatively uncommon; each one is worth 1,000 bells. Seaweed has a large immobile shadow, so you’ll be able to get to it pretty quickly if nothing else. It’s only worth 200 bells.

Well, that’s all that I’ve been able to find for this month. Do you have any tips or tricks you’d like to share? Does your experience differ from what’s listed above? Did you find this helpful? Let us know in the comments, and happy Crossing!