The kid hosting this YouTube video is rather annoying, but Gwen Pearson is wonderful, as always.
I wish I had a bug zoo, but my lab is focusing on a limited number of related species of spider, and they aren’t particularly huge. I did host a tour group of prospective students the other day, though, and 3 out of 4 seemed to like seeing my babies.
Spiders don’t bother me. Most insects don’t bother me either. But I do have a fear of wasps, despite the fact I have only be stung twice by them in my 64 years. They always seem menacing to me even though I know they are mostly just buzzing around looking for food. I manage these days to keep myself mostly calm but I still feel like STAY. AWAY. FROM. ME!
Wow, that lad sure has the wrong idea about “Coyote” Peterson and his show (Brave Wilderness). Not a good start.
Dunno, the idea that fear of bugs is evolved or instinctive doesn’t seem to square with all the other cultures that have no problem with them and eat them. Do babies even fear them? My little niece when she was months old was eating and saw a spider, before my sister noticed, she splatted it and all my sister could do was take a spider leg out of her mouth (with apologies to the arachnophiles in the audience). Also I’d think we’d be a bit squeamish about eating crustaceans too.
andyo, familiarity and all that. But I entirely concur.
Anecdotally, I first went back to Spain after about 30 years away, got a gift of some tinned percebes, got squicked by them, discarded them. Too long away, I guess.