Why are most humans scared of insects and bugs although they are small and harmless?
In: Biology
Evolution based instinct , not all bugs and/or insects are harmless and when they arent its usually pretty bad so a good defense is to not like them in general .
They are ugly and I don’t know what they are thinking. Tiny things pack a punch.
I like to live the I won’t bother you so you don’t bother me mantra.
They’re not harmless. They are often venomous, disease carriers or signs of rot and decay. Easier to avoid them all .
Never forget mosquitos are the all time champions at killing humans by orders of magnitude and the black death was caused by fleas.
I think “scared” is too reductive. Like the only insects I am truly scared of are wasps, because I have been stung by them many times. It hurts every time. With things like mosquitos I am not scared, I just really dislike the itchiness they can cause so I try to not let that happen. Other insects range from mild annoyance with flies, to liking being around them, like butterflies.
I think a lot of people confuse disgust with scared or use it interchangeably. I am not *afraid* of bugs, they *disgust* me, and have since I was a very small child. A bug touching me is the most repulsive thing ever, to the point that I won’t even touch dead ones. It may be evolutionary because bugs can be venomous or indicate rot/decay which can cause illness, or indicate one is unhealthy enough that they can’t fend off bugs. The brain is complicated, and sometimes it goes from “avoid these because they could indicate something will make you sick” to “never let these things touch you”. There is also a strong element of socialization, and people who were raised not to fear them tend to be okay with bugs or like them.
Early man mostly died to infections and tooth decay, or wild animal attack. Even the tiniest bug bite can cause a potentially fatal infection in a human without access to antibiotics.
Harmless? My brother in Korean Christ I’ve been unfortunate enough to be bitten by a brown recluse and stung by a tarantula hawk wasp in my life time.
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