herebedragons writes:
My 3 year old is leery (but not quite afraid) of spiders, but he calls almost every thing that creeps and crawls a spider. I think its more of just being uncomfortable with creatures that are different and a bit creepy (although the idea of what is "creepy" may be kind of instinctive).
To add to the anecdote-pile: I have a deep-seated hatred/fear of spiders. I don't just kill them on sight; I pound them to powder. Yet I have no fear whatsovever of bees or wasps, even though they're arguably more dangerous.
(Yes, I did have a bad encounter with a wasps' nest as a child but there have been no negative effects. No, I didn't even know that spiders
could bite until long after my fear of them was well-established.)
The only six-legged creature that I will willingly kill is a mosquito but that's mostly a matter of self-defense, I think.
I also don't like centipedes and snakes, which is why I joke that it's too many legs or not enough legs that bothers me. (On the other hand, I have nothing against fish.)
"I'm Rory Bellows, I tell you! And I got a lot of corroborating evidence... over here... by the throttle!"
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