With the cherry blossom season behind us, we head on into May and mid spring for Northern Hemisphere Animal Crossing: New Horizons fans. It also means a new batch of bugs and fish that’ll begin populating your island, as well as the last chance to grab certain others. Want to know more? Our Animal Crossing New Horizons May bug and fish list will teach you all the new critters roaming the land and see, as well as making sure you know which fish and bugs are leaving this month.
Animal Crossing: New Horizons May bug and fish list
© Nintendo
May brings many new creatures to Northern Hemisphere islands, including the valuable Banded Dragonfly and Mahi-mahi. We’ll start by covering the fish and bugs leaving the island after May, so you can ensure you’ve got all of them before moving on to the new creatures of the month.
Note: If you’re after Southern Hemisphere fish and bugs, please, scroll down to the bottom of the page.
Fish leaving in May
Loach
- When: All Day
- Where: River
- Shadow Size: Small
- Value: 400 Bells
- Returns: March
Golden Trout
- When: 4pm - 9am
- Where: River (Clifftop/Elevated)
- Shadow Size: Medium
- Value: 400 Bells
- Returns: September
Oarfish
- When: All Day
- Where: Sea
- Shadow Size: Massive
- Value: 9,000 Bells
- Returns: December
Bugs leaving in May
Mole Cricket
- When: All Day
- Where: Underground
- Value: 500 Bells
- Returns: November
© Nintendo
New fish in May
- Frog - Pond, 160 bells, small shadow, all day, May - August
- Catfish - Pond, 800 Bells, large shadow, 4pm - 9am, May - August
- Nibble Fish - River, 1,500 bells, small shadow, 9am - 4pm, May - September
- Angelfish - River 3,000 bells, small shadow, 4pm - 9am, May - October
- Betta - River, 2,500 bells, small shadow, 9am - 4pm, May - October
- Rainbowfish - River, 800 bells, tiny shadow, 9am - 4pm, May - October
- Giant Trevally - Sea (from the Pier only), 4,500 bells, large shadow, all day, May - October
- Mahi-mahi - Sea (from the Pier only), 6,000 bells, massive shadow, all day, May - October
New bugs in May
- Great Purple Emperor - Flying, 3,000 bells, 4am-7pm, May - August
- Queen Alexandra’s Birdwing - Flying, 4,000 bells, 8am - 4pm, May to September
- Banded Dragonfly - Flying, 4,500 bells, 8am - 5pm, May - October
- Pondskater - Ponds, 130 bells, 8am - 7pm, May - September
- Diving Beetle - Ponds/Rivers, 800 bells, 8am - 7pm, May - September
- Violin Beetle - Tree Stumps, 450 bells, all day, May - June / September - November
- Rosalia Batesi Beetle - Tree Stumps, 3,000 bells, all day, May - September
- Scorpion - Ground, 8,000 bells, 7pm - 4am, May - October
And there you have it! All the fish and bugs leaving in May, as well as the new entries waiting for your net or hook to find them. Good luck tracking them all down, and don’t forget you can also check our comprehensive fish list to see the entire year’s run of scaly friends. Likewise our insect list will teach you all the creepy crawlies that’ll visit your shore.
Southern Hemisphere bugs and fish leaving in May
Rocking the lower half of the globe? Not to worry, we’ve listed all the bugs and fish leaving after May for southern hemisphere Animal Crossing: New Horizons islands.
Southern Hemisphere May fish leaving
- Mitten Crab - River, 2,000 bells, small shadow, 4pm - 9am, March - May
- Guppy - River, 1,300 bells, tiny shadow, 9am - 4pm, October - May
- Neon Tetra - River, 500 bells, tiny shadow, 9am - 4pm, November - May
- Cherry Salmon - River (Clifftop/Elevated), 1,000 bells, medium shadow, March - May, September - December
- Golden Trout - River (Clifftop/Elevated), 15,000 bells, medium shadow, 4pm - 9am, March - May, September - November
- Char - River (Clifftop/Elevated) 3,800 bells, medium shadow, 4pm - 9am, March - May, September - December
- Barred Knifejaw - Sea, 5,000 bells, normal shadow, all day, September - May
- Sea Horse - Sea, 1,100 bells, tiny shadow, all day, October - May
- Ray - Sea, 3,000 bells, large shadow, 4am - 9pm, February - May
Southern Hemisphere May bugs leaving
- Monarch Butterfly - Flying, 140 bells, 4am - 5pm, March - May
- Long Locust - Ground, 200 bells, 8am - 7pm, November - May
- Migratory Locust - Ground, 600 bells, 8am - 7pm, February - May
- Rice Grasshopper - Ground, 160 bells, 8am - 7pm, February - May
- Cricket - Ground, 130 bells, 5pm - 8am, March - May
- Mantis - Flowers, 430 bells, 8am-5pm, September - May
- Orchid Mantis - White flowers, 2,500 bells, 8am - 5pm, September - May
- Stinkbug - Flowers, 120 bells, all day, September - May
- Man-Faced Stinkbug, 1,000 bells, 7pm - 8am, September - May
- Tiger Beetle - Ground, 1,500 bells, all day, August - May
- Walking Stick - In trees, 600 bells, 4am - 8am and 5pm - 7pm, January - May
- Flea - On residents, 70 bells, all day, October - May
And that’s it, the full May bug and fish list for Animal Crossing: New Horizons. By reading this article you should know which fish and bugs are leaving in May, as well as every new one that’s arrived. Visit our full fish list or insect guide to see the rest of them, or head to our New Horizons game hub by clicking here to see the full run of guides we have on offer.