With July finally here, summer is in full effect and Animal Crossing: New Horizons players have had nearly a month to start settling into all the new summertime creatures. And in the midst of all the summer fun, a museum-going Redditor has pointed out that players who visit their museum's bug section may even be treated to a special sight - a beetle fight club.
It seems that beetles in New Horizons are collecting and forming "fight clubs" on the giant sap-riddled tree found in their wing of the museum. Players who have already caught and donated a variety of beetles to Blathers' museum can head over to sneak a peek.
Upon entering Blathers' museum, players should head directly to their left and into the Bug Exhibit. Once there, walk straight north (players will pass their beetle collection on the left) until arriving at a large, sappy, tree. If lucky, museum visitors will find a ring of spectator-beetles forming around two battling beetle-warriors. If players arrive to a rather barren tree, they should simply exit and re-enter their museum - this will cause the critters to shuffle, and could bring out the Fight Club.
Players are also reporting that the beetles found fighting on the tree will actually vary. While some players might catch sight of a Rainbow Stag challenging a Miyama, that won't be the case every time; museum-goers should expect to see different combinations of beetles gathering to enjoy the Fight Club.
Although this feature comes as a delightful surprise to most Animal Crossing: New Horizons players, the inclusion and celebration of beetles should not. Japan, specifically, has a long history of fascination with beetles - given Japan's large beetle population, and the fact that beetles' horns resemble samurai helmets, it's not difficult to see how they'd become a cultural icon (see Pokemon like Heracross, for example.) Species like the Rhinoceros Beetle and Stag Beetle are often even kept as pets in Japan, and yes, beetle-trainers do participate in beetle fights.
Beetle fights in Japan are actually a quite popular form of gambling. Gamblers will place bets on two beetles "fighting" on a log, for instance, until one beetle wins by knocking the other off. Interestingly enough though, beetle fights are not a human creation. Summer bugs in New Horizons, like the Hercules and Rhinoceros Beetle, are known to "fight" regularly in the wild.
This quirky discovery is worth checking out, but more importantly, it's a reminder of all the hidden in-game details yet to be discovered. With the introduction of swimming, diving, and sea creatures too, players have more content than ever to swim through for surprise-treats, like a beetle fight club.
Animal Crossing: New Horizons is available now on Switch.