Abstract
Entomophobia, the irrational or unreasonable fear of insects, and the related arachnophobia, fear of spiders, are only two of more than one hundred terms describing recognized human fears (Terhune 1949). Among the common fears reported by Western societies that involve animals, insects and spiders rank relatively high as fear-inducing organisms, running close behind rats and snakes. This ranking may be somewhat surprising from an entomological perspective, although many entomologists would concede that public sentiment rarely favors insects. What is it about insects and spiders that evokes such negative responses from a significant portion of the population? Why are they feared? And is there a little Miss Muffet in all of us?
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