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

Welcome, New Leaf fans. Since July, DieHard GameFAN has been compiling a list of things that you can do in each in order to make sure you have all your Nooks in a row. Since it’s a new month, we’ve got a new list! Here are some of the things you can do in September.

First, 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 a few events listed for North America this month: the 2nd is Labor Day, meaning that if you see Isabelle on the plaza between 6am and midnight, you’ll get a picnic basket from her. On the 19th, you can receive a wheat bundle from Isabelle for the Autumn Moon. Lastly, the 21st is the Bug-Off. Don’t forget, of course, that some of your residents may have September 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. Also be sure to check with Pelly for any special presents that you can download via Wifi.

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

• The bell cricket, worth 1,720 bells, can be found on the ground from 5pm-8am. They’re uncommon.
• The common butterfly briefly visits your town again, flying around flowers from 4am – 7pm. These butterflies don’t exactly help you raise funds, as they’re only worth 90 bells. It is only available for this month; the next time it will appear is March.
• The cricket can commonly be found on the ground from 5pm – 8am. They’re worth 160 bells.
• Monarch butterflies can be found flying around from 9am – 5pm. They’re fairly common and worth 140 bells.
• Red dragonflies will easily be found flying around from 8am – 7pm. They’re worth a measly 80 bells.
• The violin beetle is an uncommon bug worth 260 bells found on tree stumps from 4am – 7pm.
• Yellow butterflies briefly reappear, flying near flowers from 6am – 4pm. They’re worth only 90 bells. They are only available for this month; the next time they will appear is March.

If you haven’t caught the agrias butterfly, birdwing butterfly, diving beetle, emperor butterfly, fruit beetle, goliath beetle, grasshopper, lantern fly, mosquito, moth, oak silk moth, peacock butterfly, pondskater, rainbow stag, raja brooke butterfly, scorpion, snail, tiger butterfly, walker cicada, or walking leaf yet, this is your last chance for a while, as the little critters won’t be available starting next month.

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

• The char is available again; it is an uncommon river fish (found near waterfalls) worth 3,800 bells, found from 4am – 9am and 4pm – 9pm. It’s got a medium-sized shadow.
• The king salmon is an uncommon huge river fish worth 1,800 bells. It’s available for your capture all day. It is only available in September.
• Mitten crabs are available from September 15th on, and are found in the river from 4pm – 9am. They’re rare and sell for 2,000 bells each. Look for small shadows.
• The pike is worth 1,800 bells and is found from 4am – 9pm in rivers. To find this uncommon fish, look for very large shadows.
• The rainbow trout is back again for a bit. If you haven’t caught it already, look in rivers at any time in the day. It’s fairly common, has a large shadow, and is worth about 800 bells.
• Salmon can be found all day in the river. They’re worth about 700 bells and are very common. Look for large shadows to find one. They are only available in September.

If you haven’t caught an arapaima, arowana,  blue marlin, butterfly fish, clownfish, crawfish, dorado, eel, gar, nibble fish, ocean sunfish, piranha, puffer fish, saddled bichir, saw shark, shark, soft-shelled turtle, surgeonfish, or sweetfish by now, this month is the last month you can do so for a while.

Last but not least, we have diving.

• Look for small-shadowed clams, which can be found all day. They’re stationary, so they shouldn’t be hard to catch, and are worth 400 bells.
• The Octopus returns this month. It can be found all day. It’s got a medium-sized shadow that moves pretty fast, and can be sold for 1000 bells.
• Oysters are worth 400 bells and can be found all day. They’ve got small, stationary shadows.
• The spiny lobster has a large, slow-moving shadow, and is found from 4pm – 9am. If you can manage to get your hands on one of these, you can sell it for 3,000 bells.
• The sweet shrimp can be sold for 360 bells, and has a small, erratically-moving shadow. You’ll be able to find one from 4pm – 9am.

If you haven’t caught a flatworm, horseshoe crab, sea grapes, sea urchin, or tiger prawn by now, this month is the last month you can do so for a while.

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!