Method Description, Instructions and Tips for Success

General Description

Butterflies were part of the Hunter skill when it was released; you are supposed to catch them and use them on other players to provide a temporary stat boost. This use was never very popular, though, and butterflies were mainly ignored until Summoning came out, when the ruby harvest was made a secondary ingredient for the forge regent familiar. Catching butterflies used to also be a real nuisance because you had to click exactly on the flitting butterfly to get it, but Jagex changed this to make them far easier to catch. You can get several hundred per hour, making this a good moneymaker.

Higher Hunter level doesn't help with butterflies, so each of the methods is basically the same, but you can benefit from the high capacity of the pack yak if you have level 96 Summoning. Don't use a war tortoise pouch -- it is seriously overpriced.

You don't need camo to catch ruby harvests, just weight reducing gear and a butterfly net or preferably a magic butterfly net (a reward you can get from the Impetuous Impulses minigame.) You also need to be able to teleport easily to the hunting grounds and to bank efficiently. For this I recommend a lunar or dramen staff, ring of duelling and also a ring of Slaying (which you can buy the right to make using Slayer points.)

Since the run energy update in June 2009, run energy is effectively no longer an issue and so you do not need Tireless Run scrolls or energy potions.

Note that since the removal of infinite supply from shops, getting large quantities of butterfly jars on the GE can be difficult at times. If you enjoy catching butterflies, I recommend gathering jars over time. There is also a stock of 300 at hunting stores.

Specific Method Details

Equip boots of lightness, spotted cape, dramen or lunar staff and ring of Slaying, and put the butterfly net and ring of duelling in your inventory. Summon a spirit terrorbird. Then take out a full inventory of butterfly jars and store 10 of them in the terrorbird. Now take out 10 more butterfly jars.

Use the ring of Slaying to teleport to the Rellekka Slayer Cave, then use the fairy ring just to your west. Enter code "A K Q" to go to the Piscatoris hunting area, then go a bit south and you'll find many butterflies floating around.

Catch butterflies until all your jars are full. Then open the terrorbird and swap the full jars for the 10 empty jars in there, 2 at a time. Catch 10 more butterflies, then use the ring of duelling to return to Castle Wars to bank. Each trip should take about 5 minutes.

Note that if you have lots of amulets of glory you can use them for banking instead of the ring of duelling, saving an inventory slot. You'll have to take time at some point to recharge them, of course.