"Bug swarm" redirects here. For the discontinued random event, see Swarm.
For the elite version, see Harpie Bug Swarm (elite).
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Harpie Bug Swarm icon

Harpie Bug Swarms are insectoid Slayer monsters that require level 33 Slayer to kill and level 33 Firemaking to light the unlit bug lantern. A lit bug lantern must be equipped to deal any damage to them.

Players often kill harpie bug swarms as many consider them a good source of medium clue scrolls as they have relatively low defence.

Strengths and weaknesses

Harpie bug swarms use rapid Ranged attacks and do quite a bit of damage for their combat level. If a lit bug lantern is not equipped, any attacks on them will not hit. They are weakest to crush attacks. Due to their weakness to crush and quick range attacks, it is recommended to equip good melee armour and a dragon mace as its special attacks can deal massive damage on them.

Alternatively, players can mage or range harpie bug swarms from the eastern side of the stream at the eastern end of their habitat to avoid taking any damage from them, although this does mean expenditure in terms of runes or ammo for ranged weapons, and using magic is not recommended due to their natural resistance to magical attacks. Ava's device does not work across the stream to retrieve bolts.

Another place to mage or range them is north of the brown ridge. They will not come too far in between it and the sea.

cannon can be used to take down multiple swarms easily.

Another viable strategy, for those that have finished the Tai Bwo Wannai Trio quest, is to use Protect from Ranged prayer and refill prayer points at the Tribal statue in the village, a short run away.


Harpie Bug Swarm location

The location of Harpie bug swarms

They're found east of the Jogre Dungeon. Since Harpie Bug Swarms are located close to the Karamja general store, it is possible to buy food there as well as sell drops. However, if one wishes to use a bank, there is one in the TzHaar City, found beneath Karamja Volcano, and the route is made shorter with the mithril grapple shortcut (53 Agility, 42 Ranged and 21 Strength required) on a peninsula just east of the cliff. If you don't wish to or cannot use that shortcut, you may also bank in Shilo Village after you complete the Shilo Village quest. Also, Rionasta in Tai Bwo Wannai Village can send items to the bank for 10 trading sticks per item, although he cannot take items out of the bank. The bank in Zanaris is also close, if you can use fairy rings (northeast of CKR), as the bank is just north-west of the main fairy ring in Zanaris.

Players can still be assigned harpie bug swarms as Slayer tasks, even if they do not have the 33 Firemaking level required to light an unlit bug lantern. Players cannot use assistance from other players to light an unlit bug lantern, therefore 33 Firemaking is a necessary requirement to enable players to kill harpie bug swarms.



No charmGold charmGreen charmCrimson charmBlue charm
Represents a 90% confidence range based on a sample of 69,035 kills.
1 charm is dropped at a time.
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Main drops

Item Quantity Rarity GE price
Steel full helmSteel full helm1Common1,065
Steel hatchetSteel hatchet1Common2,929
Staff of fireStaff of fire1Common1,755
Mithril chainbodyMithril chainbody1Uncommon2,619
Adamant helmAdamant helm1Uncommon2,691
Steel bootsSteel boots1Uncommon788
Black 2h swordBlack 2h sword1Rare5,625
Chaos runeChaos rune15–30Common1,695–3,390
Death runeDeath rune3Uncommon342
Coins 1000Coins30–1,000Common30–1,000
Gold oreGold ore1Common309
Jug of wineJug of wine1Uncommon27

Tertiary drops

Item Quantity Rarity GE price
Spirit sapphireSpirit sapphire1RareNot sold
Spirit emeraldSpirit emerald1RareNot sold
Spirit rubySpirit ruby1RareNot sold
Sealed clue scroll (medium)Sealed clue scroll (medium)1RareNot sold
Starved ancient effigyStarved ancient effigy1Very rareNot sold

Rare drop table drops

This monster has access to the rare drop table.
Show/hide rare drop table
Item Quantity Rarity GE price
Coins 250Coins250–500Common250–500
Uncut sapphireUncut sapphire1Common370
Uncut emeraldUncut emerald1Common696
Uncut rubyUncut ruby1Common1,068
Uncut diamondUncut diamond1Common2,438
Uncut diamondUncut diamond45–55 (noted)Rare109,710–134,090
Loop half of a keyLoop half of a key1Common10,768
Tooth half of a keyTooth half of a key1Common13,981
Uncut dragonstoneUncut dragonstone1Uncommon12,126
Uncut dragonstoneUncut dragonstone45–55 (noted)Rare545,670–666,930
Dragon longswordDragon longsword1Common58,241
Dragon spearDragon spear1Rare36,270
BattlestaffBattlestaff180–220 (noted)Rare741,240–905,960
Rune javelinRune javelin5Rare880
Rune platebodyRune platebody1Uncommon37,480
Rune platebodyRune platebody15–25 (noted)Rare562,200–937,000
Shield left halfShield left half1Rare64,674
Dragon helmDragon helm1Uncommon59,001
Rune arrowheads 5Rune arrowheads113–137Common15,820–19,180
Onyx bolts 5Onyx bolts135–165Very rare1,067,310–1,304,490
Chaos talismanChaos talisman1Rare1,188
Nature talismanNature talisman1Rare765
Water talismanWater talisman65–82 (noted)Rare244,335–308,238
Earth talismanEarth talisman65–82 (noted)Rare14,885–18,778
Fire talismanFire talisman25–35 (noted)Rare7,900–11,060
Raw lobsterRaw lobster135–165 (noted)Common26,055–31,845
Raw sharkRaw shark225–275 (noted)Uncommon168,525–205,975
Big bonesBig bones68–82 (noted)Uncommon10,948–13,202
Dragon bonesDragon bones180–220 (noted)Rare328,680–401,720
CoalCoal200–1,100 (noted)Uncommon20,600–113,300
Gold oreGold ore90–110 (noted)Common27,810–33,990
Adamantite oreAdamantite ore180–220 (noted)Uncommon42,120–51,480
Adamant barAdamant bar14–16 (noted)Common23,870–27,280
Adamant barAdamant bar135–165 (noted)Rare230,175–281,325
Runite oreRunite ore90–110 (noted)Rare106,110–129,690
Rune barRune bar(noted)Common7,887
Rune barRune bar45–55 (noted)Rare118,305–144,595
Grimy torstolGrimy torstol90–110 (noted)Uncommon350,640–428,560
Grimy snapdragonGrimy snapdragon90–110 (noted)Uncommon118,980–145,420
Lantadyme seed 5Lantadyme seed14–16Uncommon4,746–5,424
Dwarf weed seed 5Dwarf weed seed14–16Uncommon4,032–4,608
Magic seed 5Magic seed4Uncommon128,648
Palm tree seed 5Palm tree seed10Rare245,000
FlaxFlax450–550 (noted)Common40,500–49,500
Molten glassMolten glass45–55 (noted)Common9,315–11,385
Soft claySoft clay450–550 (noted)Uncommon261,900–320,100
Yew logsYew logs68–82 (noted)Uncommon10,880–13,120
Yew logsYew logs675–825 (noted)Rare108,000–132,000
Teak plankTeak plank45–55 (noted)Uncommon13,815–16,885
Mahogany plankMahogany plank270–330 (noted)Rare209,790–256,410
Blurberry SpecialBlurberry Special1Uncommon8,380
Vecna skullVecna skull1Very rare*165,646
Crystal triskelion fragment 1Crystal triskelion fragment 11Very rareNot sold
Crystal triskelion fragment 2Crystal triskelion fragment 21Very rareNot sold
Crystal triskelion fragment 3Crystal triskelion fragment 31Very rareNot sold

Universal drops

Universal drops are dropped by nearly every monster outside of Daemonheim.
These drops are dropped alongside main drops.
Item Quantity Rarity GE price
Key tokenKey token1RareNot sold
Mimic kill tokenMimic kill token1Very rare9,282


  • During the 25 October 2011 triple Slayer experience event, these monsters did not give triple Slayer experience, unlike all other tasks.