Beedle's Missing Beetle is the penultimate side quest in The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword HD and becomes available once players have defeated Bilocyte in the Thunderhead to free Levias from its influence. The quest involves tracking down Beedle's prized Horned Colossus beetle for him after it goes missing, which is going to be just as frustrating as it sounds. There's an awful lot of back and forth involved, but the rewards are arguably well worth the effort.

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As well as giving Link the standard five Gratitude Crystals, Beedle will also offer the young adventurer 50% off his next purchase from the flying air shop. Assuming players still haven't purchased the Piece of Heart he has for sale, this can mean a saving of 800 Rupees. Even if they have, there are other items, like the Bug Medal and the third Adventure Pouch upgrade, which can still save players at 500 plus, making it a very good deal regardless of what they buy.

Updated October 1, 2021 by Tom Bowen: If there's one thing that Beedle loves more than Rupees, it's his pet Horned Colossus beetle, which mysteriously goes missing towards the end of Skyward Sword HD. Those hoping to collect all of the game's Gratitude Crystals will need to help the moping merchant to find it, which will require them to take part in a challenging bug-collecting mini-game. Thankfully, however, the locations of the bugs they'll be hunting down are all fixed, meaning that, with the help of this guide, players can return Beedle's beetle with minimal fuss.

How To Start The Beedle's Missing Beetle Side Quest

How to start the Beedle's Missing Beetle side quest in The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword HD

After players have defeated Bilocyte, they'll need to visit Bug Island and look for Groose's lanky friend Strich. He'll be hanging out on the west side of the island near one of the large wooden platforms, so players shouldn't have too much trouble finding him. If all else fails, they should be able to get an easy fix on his location by landing on the very top of the island and then looking over to the west.

How to start the Beedle's Missing Beetle side quest in The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword HD

Upon speaking to Strich, he'll tell Link that he's decided to go after his dream and plans to spend all of his time catching bugs on the island. He's also set up a new mini-game, in which, depending on the difficulty selected, players will need to catch either five or ten specific bugs of Strich's choosing. Players can have a go at it now if they like, although there's really no need unless they want to get an idea of where all the bugs will be when they return to play it later.

How to start the Beedle's Missing Beetle side quest in The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword HD

For now, players should return to Skyloft and head up to Beedle's Flying Shop by making their way over to the east side of Skyloft and ringing the bell on the shop with one of Link's projectile-based weapons. This will allow the young hero to climb aboard, where Beedle will tell him that he has a problem. He doesn't want to talk about it just now though, so players should sleep until nighttime in the bed on the left-hand side of the store.

How to start the Beedle's Missing Beetle side quest in The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword HD

When they wake up, players will find themselves on Beedle's Island, and if it's their first time visiting, they should climb the ladder on the side of the store and use the beetle to collect the loose Gratitude Crystal that's perched atop one of the store's propellers. After that, they'll need to speak with Beedle, who will tell Link that he's lost his precious Horned Colossus beetle and ask for the young adventurer's help to find it. If Link says yes, the quest will begin.

How To Find Beedle's Missing Beetle

How to find Beedle's missing beetle in The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword HD

If there's one person who loves beetles more than Beedle, it's Strich, so players should head back over to Bug Island and ask Strich if he knows anything. It just so happens that he recently found a Horned Colossus just like Beedle's, but when Link tells him that it already has an owner, he'll refuse to hand it over. Instead, he offers Link the chance to win the beetle back, and if Link accepts, he'll need to pay ten Rupees and then find ten specific bugs in three minutes or less.

Where To Find The Ten Bugs

How to find the ten bugs in the Beedle's Missing Beetle side quest in The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword HD

There are a few different routes that players can take that will allow them to get the bugs they need in under three minutes, as all of the bugs are in the same places each and every round. To get them all on the first try though, players should start by taking a left and jumping down onto the platform with the two pots. Here, they'll find a Sand Cicada on the fencepost to their right.

How to find the ten bugs in the Beedle's Missing Beetle side quest in The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword HD

Next, players should drop down into the area to the right of where they found the Sand Cicada and grab themselves a Blessed Butterfly. Continuing in this direction, they can find the first of two Faron Grasshoppers that they need in some grass a little further along and another Blessed Butterly just in case they missed the first one. They'll then want to keep going straight, using the wooden platform to jump across the gaps.

How to find the ten bugs in the Beedle's Missing Beetle side quest in The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword HD

In the next patch of grass, players will find the first of two Eldin Rollers that Strich has requested and should then head inside the island through the stone archway to their right. They can ignore the two Starry Fireflies in the center of the next room as they're not on the list, and should instead roll through the spiderweb on their left. There's another Eldin Roller behind the pots to the left and breaking the pots on the right will release the second Faron Grasshopper that they need.

How to find the ten bugs in the Beedle's Missing Beetle side quest in The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword HD

With six of the bugs they need now collected, players should roll back through the spiderweb and take a left. There are two more pots here, and breaking them will reveal a tunnel that will drop down onto a small platform. As soon as they land, they should try and catch one of the two Gerudo Dragonflies, but these have a habit of flying out of range very quickly, so if this happens, players should skip it for now and move on. There's a Lanayru Ant walking around on the decking though and a Skyloft Mantis in one of the pots to the left of where players fall down.

How to find the ten bugs in the Beedle's Missing Beetle side quest in The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword HD

To leave the wooden decking area, players will need to use their Clawshot to grapple onto the vines on the other side of the large gap. After climbing back up, they'll need to run up the steep slope in front of them and then turn around and hop back over the wooden platform. They'll then want to follow this path down, climb the platform on the left at the end and catch the Woodland Rhino Beetle that's on the wall in front of them.

How to find the ten bugs in the Beedle's Missing Beetle side quest in The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword HD

If players managed to catch one of the Gerudo Dragonflies on the decking earlier, they should now have collected all ten of the bugs that they need. If not, they'll need to climb the platform to their right and then climb the one on the left to get back to the starting point. From here, they should keep going straight and use the vine to swing over the water. They'll see a large rollable log on their right and will find another Gerudo Dragonfly immediately after passing it.

Claiming The Reward

Claiming the reward in the Beedle's Missing Beetle side quest in The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword HD

As soon as players catch the final bug, the mini-game will come to an end and they will be returned to Strich. If they managed to catch everything in under three minutes, he'll hand over Beedle's Horned Colossus beetle. Players can return to Bug Island whenever they like and repeat the mini-game using the same strategy to earn rare bugs and Rupees, but for now, they should jump off the nearby wooden platform to mount their Loftwing and fly it back to Skyloft.

Claiming the reward in the Beedle's Missing Beetle side quest in The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword HD

Upon their arrival, they'll again need to summon Beedle's Flying Shop by ringing the bell and should sleep until nighttime in the bed just as they did on their earlier visit. After waking up on Beedle's Island, they can head outside to return the Horned Colossus and receive five Gratitude Crystals as a reward. Beedle will also offer Link 50% off his next purchase from the store, so, for those who haven't already, now is an excellent time to purchase the Piece of Heart that Beedle has for sale.

Other Side Quests in Skyward Sword HD

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