Not sure whether to put this in anthropology or psychology, but here goes:
I remember seeing some write-up somewhere that described something called 'primal fears'. It said that while many fears are products of personal and social experience, there's a handful of fears that all humans are (usually) born with due to evolutionary reasons. Roughly speaking, these were:
- heights
- darkness,
- very loud noises
- signs of carnivory (think sharp teeth and claws)
- signs of decay (worms, bones)
- signs of disease (physical disfigurement and malformation)
and rounding off the list were the aforementioned creepy-crawlies.
Most of these make a lot of sense - heights, disease, darkness, etc. are things that most animals are exposed to all the time. What I was fascinated by was the idea that our ancestors had enough negative experience with snakes, spiders, and similar creatures to be instinctively off-put by them.
I started to think about it even more, and I realized that there are lots of things that have similar physical traits to the creepy-crawlies that are nonetheless NOT as feared by people. For example:
-
Caterpillars, inchworms and millipedes do not illicit the kind of response that centipedes do, despite having a similar body type
-
A spider shares many traits with other insect-like invertebrates, but seeing a big spider is much more alarming than seeing a big beetle or cricket
-
Except for the legs, snakes are just like any other reptile, but we don't seem to be freaked out by most lizards
So, what gives? Is all of the above just habituated fear response, or is it something deeper and more primal? Would love any clarity on this.
Snow boots, stocking caps, etc. sitting in a box, storage unit, basement, or attic for a season are a dandy spot for spiders and other biters to hide. Give everything a shake before you put them in the closet or put them on!
I'm an independent researcher of insects and spiders as well as an educational content creator. In my mission to help conserve the world's arthropod biodiversity through awareness of these incredible little animals, I'm trying to understand what people's preconceived notions about common taxa are. Here's a survey if you don't mind taking 2-3 minutes to help with this study: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/MMY7DN5
I know it’s still cold, but warmer weather is approaching quicker than I may think it is and I’ve been feeling super anxious about it. The crawlies appear in my house mostly around spring, and I’m terrified :( I’m constantly checking my walls and ceilings. Anyways, I hope the world takes it easy on me this year regarding how many crawlies I see. I hope all members on this subreddit are doing well and having an amazing new year, you guys remind me I’m not alone in this :)
