Insect

Bugs, or Insects, encompass the group of enemies, animals, and collectibles found in various games throughout the Zelda series. With the exception of Shadow Insects, bugs do not have plot-relevance; their role is usually limited to sidequests.

Ocarina of Time and Majora's Mask
In Ocarina of Time and Majora's Mask, generic bugs can be stored in bottles. They can be found under small rocks or be purchased at the Medicine Shop. Each bottle contains three individual bugs which, when released, will scamper around for a few seconds, and then dig underground, never to be seen again. Their preferred breeding grounds are mounds of soft soil. These seemingly insignificant bugs benefit Link greatly while he searches for Gold Skulltulas. If Link finds a mound of soft soil to drop them on, they will burrow into the soil and in so doing may reveal a Gold Skulltula. Every time they are released, three bugs pop out. This can be useful to increase or maintain bug supply by releasing and re-catching bugs in new bottles. This trick can also be used for quick money in Ocarina of Time, as they can be sold to the beggar for 50 rupees per bottle. In Majora's Mask, if Link releases a bottle of bugs near a mound of soft soil, different items such as Rupees, Arrows, and Bombs will come out. This happens everywhere, with the exception of the Swamp Spider House, where a Gold Skulltula is released instead, much like in Ocarina of Time.

Twilight Princess
The bugs of Twilight Princess, Golden Bugs, are found all over Hyrule. A child in Hyrule Castle Town, Agitha, fancies these bugs and sent invitations to 24 bugs around Hyrule for a ball. Unfortunately, it seems none have arrived, and she asks for Link's help in bringing all the bugs to her castle. She will reward Link generously upon finding and giving her the bugs. Collecting them all leads to two wallet upgrades, each with a higher maximum Rupee capacity. The collection of Golden Bugs is an optional sidequest and is not required for completion of the game.

There are 12 types of Golden Bugs, and a male (♂) and female (♀) of each type, for a total of 24 to bring back to Agitha for her bug ball. Both male and female variations of a single bug exist in the same region, relatively nearby, thus making the hunting for a pair easier.

Skyward Sword
In Skyward Sword, bugs are a collectible item found in both the The Sky and the The Surface. At night, they can be sold to Strich, who is particularly fond of them, or used to upgrade potions at Luv and Bertie's Potion Shop. Insects are abundant on Bug Rock in the Thunderhead. Here, Stritch runs a minigame called Bug Heaven during the day, which involves catching specific bugs within a certain time limit.

Beedle owns a pet bug called the Horned Colossus Beetle. At some point during the game, Beedle loses his bug. Link must regain it from Stritch by completing Bug Heaven. For returning the beetle to its rightful owner, Link receives 5 Gratitude Crystals and a 50% discount on all items at the Beedle's Air Shop for the remainder of the game.

Bugs are caught either by rolling into a wall or a tree with the bug on it, to make it fall to the ground (this is unlikely to work if the insect has a high level of evasiveness), or by using a Bug Net purchased at Beedle's Air Shop for 50 Rupees. The Bug Net can be upgraded to a Big Bug Net at Gondo's Scrap Shop for 100 Rupees, three Tumbleweeds, two Ancient Flowers and an Evil Crystal. The larger Big Bug Net makes it easier to capture insects.

Butterfly
Butterflies first appear in Link's Awakening. If one butterfly touches a Deku Stick in Ocarina of Time or Majora's Mask, it will turn into fairy. In The Minish Cap, Joy Butterflies appear as a result of certain Kinstone Fusions.

In Twilight Princess and Skyward Sword, butterflies are collectible items with different uses. In Twilight Princess, there are the ♂ and ♀ varieties of the Golden Butterflies, and in Skyward Sword, there are the Blessed Butterflies.

Butterflies also appear in Oracle of Seasons, although Link cannot interact with them.

Firefly
Fireflies are prevalent in certain forests and forest-themed areas, namely, Kokiri Forest and the Lost Woods in Ocarina of Time, as well as Forest Haven and the Wind Temple in. Regular fireflies are merely for ambient effect and cannot be interacted with. In Skyward Sword, collectible Starry Fireflies appear at night on Skyloft and other islands in The Sky.

In The Wind Waker, there is a special firefly indigenous to Forest Haven that glows in seven colors. The Forest Firefly can be caught in a bottle and placed inside a Picto Box to create a Deluxe Picto Box, which can capture pictographs in full color.

Shadow Insects
The Shadow Insects are enemies in Twilight Princess. Created by Zant, they attached themselves to the scattered light stolen from the four Spirits of Light. Link must track down and kill these insects in order to collect the lost Tears of Light in a Vessel of Light. They are invisibile, but Link can use his senses as a Wolf to find them.

Trivia

 * Bugs in Ocarina of Time look like miniature Blue Tektites.
 * In Skyward Sword, bugs can be stunned by Link using Mushroom Spores.


 * Skyward Sword's Blessed Butterflies strongly resemble Minish Cap's Joy Butterflies, and they are both of importance to players looking to explore and/or collect everything. However, in neither game is it necessary to pay them any mind to complete their respective games.
 * Bugs of Skyward Sword, namely the Deku Hornets and Gerudo Dragonflies, pay homage to two races that do not appear in the game. This leaves the Zoras and Kokiri as the only notable future Hyrulean races who do not appear or are otherwise mentioned in the game.
 * The Deku Hornet is a unique breed of bug for a number of reasons:
 * Rather than fleeing at the sight of Link, they will actively come to him, in swarms, making them the easiest bug to catch in batches.
 * They are also the only bug that can hurt Link (even though both the Skyloft Mantis and Sky Stag Beetle are mentioned to have powerful appendages that one should be aware of), and will attack him if he comes near their nest.
 * Deku Hornets are the only bug that cannot be Z-Targeted. Therefore, it is unknown what Fi has to say about them.