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There are many different items that drop from monsters in Stardew Valley. One of these items is bug meat; a pink meat blob that drops from insects. Bug meat is a bit gross but overall, it has some helpful uses.

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In this guide, we are going to go over how to farm bug meat. There are several different ways to obtain the item, but we are going to look at the easiest methods to farm bug meat. First, let's go over what you can do with this material.

Updated February 3, 2024 by Jacqueline Zalace: Stardew Valley's bug meat can be gross, but it definitely comes in handy from time to time. We've polished this guide and tweaked the formatting a bit to help you farm as much bug meat as possible, both within the Mines and within the Mutant Bug Lair.

What To Do With Bug Meat

bait in player inventory

Bug meat is used in a few different recipes, so let's take a look at them below. Many of these recipes have to do with fishing, so it's definitely helpful to always have some bug meat on hand.

Bug meat cannot be used by itself; you will need to craft it first. If you have an excess of the meat, you can sell it for 8g each.

Additionally, you will need 100 pieces of bug meat to complete the Juicy Bugs Wanted special order. This is a quest that can be found on the special orders board in front of the Mayor's house.

Juicy Bugs Wanted requires you to deliver 100 bug meat within seven days and place them in the bin near the fish shop. The bug meat must be gained while you are doing the quest, meaning you cannot use the meat that you have in storage. Completing this order will reward you will 3,000g and the recipe for the quality bobber.

If you have access to the sewing machine, you can also use bug meat to make the Pink Striped Shirt.

How To Find Bugs In The Mines

stardew valley player standing next to grubs in a cave

One of the best sources of bug meat is within the Mines. Out of the 120 levels of the Mines, you will find the most amount of bugs near the top floors. Monsters on these floors will be pretty easy to kill, allowing you to safely explore without collapsing due to low health. These floors will have Bugs, Cave Flies, as well as Grubs, which are pictured above.

Bugs are insects that fly in a straight path, turning around when they run into another object. They are fairly simple to kill; just stay out of their way and attack. Bugs will have a 76 percent chance of dropping bug meat.

Grubs have a 60 percent chance to drop bug meat. This bug will eventually transform into a Cave Fly, increasing the chances to find bug meat to 90 percent.

If you see Grubs on the ground, stand nearby and wait until they turn into Cave Flies before attacking. As Grubs transform (or pupate), they will turn a bluish-green color and become immune to damage. After they become a fly, attack and kill them.

Efficiently Farming In The Mines

stardew valley player standing in entrance area of an infested floor in the mines-1

To efficiently farm for bug meat, stick to floors 15-25. Using the elevator, cycle these floors and slay any bugs that stand in your way to collect their meat.

Travel to different floors of the mines, searching for insects to kill. If an area becomes misty green, you have entered into an infested floor. On these floors, a lot of Cave Flies will appear to attack you; making this a great source of bug meat.

Some players note that the infested floor moves 'up' every day for a period of time. For example, if you find it on Floor 39, the next day it may appear on Floor 38. Additionally, the floor remains infested all day, allowing you to leave and come back later in the day to newly respawned bugs.

The Burglar's Ring & Monster Musk

stardew valley player in mines killing enemies after taking monster musk

Overall, we recommend using a combination of the Burglar's Ring and Monster Musk.

The Burglar's Ring will increase the chances of receiving monster loot, while Monster Musk is a usable item that doubles the number of enemies encountered. Below, you can check out a small table explaining how to get both items.

Item

Effect

How To Obtain

Burglar's Ring

Increases the chance for monsters to drop loot

Slay 500 Dust Sprites and return to the Adventurer's Guild

Monster Musk

Doubles the amount of monsters encountered in the Mines Skull Cavern, and Volcano Dungeon

Complete the Special Order "Prismatic Jelly" from the Wizard

With these two items combined, you will have a higher chance of encountering more bugs that drop more meat.

Mutant Bug Lair

mutant bug lair entrance stardew valley
Both entrances to the Sewers are circled here. 

Another source of bug meat is from the Mutant Bug Lair. This is an area that is accessible from the left-hand side of the Sewers.

To unlock the mutant bug area, you will need to start the Dark Talisman quest. This quest is necessary to start The Goblin Problem quest as well.

This quest can only be started after you complete the Community Center, making the lair out of reach early in the game. If you have not finished the Community Center yet, it's best to stick to the Mines for farming bug meat.

stardew valley player fishing in mutant bug lair

In this area, there will be a lot of Mutant Grubs and Mutant Flies. Similar to the normal varieties, the Mutant Grub has a 60 percent chance to drop bug meat while the Mutant Fly has a 90 percent chance.

Bugs will continuously respawn in the Mutant Bug Lair. Once you have defeated all the bugs, you can come back later, as well as the following morning.

Fish Ponds

Stardew Valley Fish Pond with Quest (gameplay screenshot)

Lastly, you will have a chance to collect bug meat from fish ponds.

If you have a fish pond with at least nine Dorado, Lingcod, or Pike, then you may receive 20 bug meat every day. Each of these fish has around a five percent daily chance to produce 20 bug meat. Raising your fish population takes a bit of work, but it's a great passive source of bug meat.

Ponds with these types of fish have a capacity of ten. When you first put the fish inside, you will need to complete quests in order to spawn more. These will be simple fetch quests that require you to find items and toss them in the pond.

Those are the best places to farm bug meat. Use your new bug meat to craft the recipes and complete Willy's special order now!

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