Bug meat is a rather peculiar item that you will run into while adventuring in the mines, and if you’re just starting out, you will probably toss it aside and never use it for anything. However, there are a few things it will come in handy for, but more specifically, one big thing – bait.
I am going to give you a full rundown on how you can get more bug meat in Stardew Valley, how you can farm it, and also how you can use it.
What is bug meat?
Bug meat is a resource you will run into when you are fighting various bugs and larvae in the regular mines, as well as the Skull Caverns. This item is usually dropped by either one of these monsters: wasps, larvae, and all the other insects (the flying ones especially).
How to farm bug meat in Stardew Valley?
Since insects are where bug meat drops, you will need to farm the lower levels of the mines or try your luck in the Skull Caverns. The best way I found to farm lots of bug meat is constantly replaying the levels with lots of bugs (obviously). That is mainly levels between 1 and 30. These are the levels that have the most bugs and are also the easiest to defeat.
The best ones are the infested levels, so if you manage to run into an infested level, make sure you farm the living daylights out of it – preferably using the Monster Musk buff.
I personally prefer to farm level 25 (or levels between 15-25), since that’s where I had the most luck with bug meat.
Use Monster Musk when possible
Monster Musk is a buff you can craft once you complete the “Prismatic Jelly” Special Order from the Wizard. This is a quest that teaches you the recipe for Monster Musk, which is a buff that lasts 10 minutes and doubles the drops you get from enemies.
To craft Monster Musk, you need 30 Slime and 30 Bat Wings, so it’s a win-win situation when you go farming in the mines.
How to use bug meat?
The most important thing you will use bug meat for is bait. 1 bug meat = 5 bait, so if you plan on catching all the fish, you will need a lot of bug meat. You can also use bug meat in other recipes, such as the Wild Bait (that lets you catch 2 fish at once), Bug Steak (yuck!), Sturdy Ring or Magic Bait (which you will probably want to craft later on in the game, since it allows you to catch any fish regardless of other factors).
If you want to learn more about Stardew Valley, we have a guide on how to solve the Mermaid Puzzle and the best farm layouts, as well as a few others. We love the game as well!